


Just revive

by FEE8AS



Category: Casper (1995)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2020-12-14 13:37:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 48,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21016652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FEE8AS/pseuds/FEE8AS
Summary: Many years have passed since the Harvey's first arrived. It's Game Night, and this time it's Kat's turn to choose what to play.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A word-vomit note from the author:
> 
> Hi! This is an exercise meant to be enjoyed as pure fun and written out of a love for these characters that I've known for most of my life.
> 
> •Cringe warnings•
> 
> •This is ridiculous and there is a lot of swearing•
> 
> We arrive when years have passed, o reader mine.
> 
> Things get spicy toward the end of the first entry. The M Rated adult kind of spicy. Praise the filters and consider yourself warned!
> 
> Thank you for reading this madness.
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> —

Resting on an arm chair in her room set a crumpled plastic bag. Its contents tonight would prove either catastrophic or inconsequential. One thing for sure is she was going to have an attempt at fun at the very least.

Grabbing the bag with a rustle she headed downstairs. Tonight was Game Night and it was her turn to choose.

She rushed, skipping the last step and holding the railing to swing herself hurriedly into the dining hall.

Three were here, perfect. The other two were out fetching snacks. And once they had returned from a newly opened twenty-four hour supermarket, would join in at what she would hope to be a fulfilling game.

"What's in the bag?" asked a puffy-cheeked ghost.

"Stuff. A thing I wanted us all to play tonight." said Kat.

"Oh shit, well we was just getting out of here because that whole idea sounds awful." Stinkie thumbed over his shoulder.

"Fine. It's cool, I'll just get the deck out and shuffle it for a few hours all sad by myself, then go to bed." Kat sighed.

"Cards?" Stretch turned in his bench. "You wanna play cards with us?"

"Wow you're right," Kat said in return, "that does sound incredibly awful when you say it like that." She pulled a large black box from the bag and not-so-gently dropped it on the old, wooden table. The loud _thud_ it made caused them all float aback.

"'_Cards against humanity'?_" Fatso read aloud.

"What's this? _'A game for terrible people'?_" Stretch followed.

"Great job on those reading skills guys, you're gonna need them for this."

"Listen, bitch– " bit Stretch.

"I hear nothing but curiosity for what's in this box. C'mon, it'll be a lot of fun, trust me. You guys will actually like this game and I'm not just saying that this time."

She opened the box and took out the deck before their groans of protest became words. She quickly separated the two distinct white and black cards and unfolded the rules.

"It does say for terrible people." said Fatso.

"I am so hurt by that notion. How do we play?" Stinkie said.

"It's pretty simple. Here, lemme grab a chair—"

"What the fuck?! Hahaha! — _'The sight of Pac-Man uncontrollably guzzling—_" Fatso's round belly was waving like splashes with his laughter.

"_Shhh_! No! Give me that! No spoilers!" She snatched the card away from him.

"What... what is this? I have to play this." Fatso guffawed.

"Really? _Pac-Man_ was all it took?" Kat snickered.

"That's _two_ now." Fatso held up the corresponding amount of fingers warning.

"Nooo! Please stay, I'm glad you're here." She grabbed the black deck and began shuffling."Okay so, we have the black cards which tell us what we are trying to match. Each round we all choose cards we think would go well—"

"Is this just fucking mad-libs?" Stretch said, yanking the rules off the table.

"Yes this is fucking mad-libs, but it's going to be fun. Please? Like, it's not going to kill you to participate in a game which could embarrass the shit out of my dad is it?"

"I'll play." said Stinkie

"Good man. Shuffle. Deal seven of these to us." She handed him the white deck.

The tall ghost grabbed the cards that were tossed to him. "So what is the point of this game?" he asked once his hand was sorted.

"To make the Card Czar choose your card." Kat replied.

"Who is the Card Czar?" asked Stinkie.

"I'll be the Card Czar for the first round. And whoever wins the round is the next one and so on. You put the card you want to play face down and once everyone plays, I'll give them a little shuffle so there's no favoritism."

"Shit this is gonna be easy." said Stinkie.

"I'm gonna try to be picky." Kat snubbed smirkingly at the round-nosed ghost.

Everyone had a hand now and Stretch was already choking down chuckles as he fidgeted with his cards.

"Oh my... are you sure you want to play this? How many of these cards say 'penis' on them?" said Stretch.

"Uh—_lot_." said Kat.

"Well according to this one, I've got the _biggest_—"

"_Shush_! Stop revealing cards, Fatso! Now I can't pick you if you play that."

"Aw. Well pretend you didn't hear that."

"What's the first card we play?" asked Stinkie.

She turned over a black card and read it aloud,

"_'Coming up on TLC, blank'._"

Everyone took a moment to look at their cards. She was beaming. This was going so well! It wasn't often that occupants of the manor wanted to spend time with her. Over the years the hateful screaming matches that had to occasionally be quelled by her father stepping in became more and more amicable in the introduction of Game Night.

But as she got older, the frequency of Game Night seemed to lessen with each adventure in growing up that took her away from home. She thought she had done fairly well for herself as an adult, in spite of her strange living at home situation. Having a knack for tinkering and fixing the technology that escaped the limited knowledge of her father, she had developed skills that became very fruitful in the rapidly modernizing world around her. And fortunately the manor had an abundance of mechanical secrets to share and proved to be something that aided in a chance opportunity when she was young. She had gone into a pawn shop looking for old forgotten metal bits of this and that; and being a frequent, if odd in type of customer at the dusty shop, the owners had offered her a job. She made it into a comfortable living combined with the occasional pay from her fathers profession. A now very old couple with grown children and grandchildren had owned the shop since they were young. Kat was now midway into a week of a well-earned annual vacation.

Tonight would just be a chance to experience a good time. A chance to enjoy a lapse in the usual air of forced animosity that haunted the halls.

Everyone around the table set a card toward her, face down. She closed her eyes and turned her head to the side as she gently mixed up the three cards.

"Like that's gonna do anything, you know whose card's what." Stretch sneered.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." She said, still mixing with eyes closed.

She then opened them and ganderd at the candidates in her hand. "Oh. I have regrets. This was a bad idea."

"C'mon Kat, what's the matter? Thought you wanted to play." The tall ghost jabbed.

"Oh god no, don't make me read these."

A chant and banging of fists of "_Do it! Do! Do it!_" roared in the dining room.

She swallowed and read the tamest one first.

"_'Next on TLC—Having no legs, just toes'._"

"Hey, that's personal!" Fatso shouted.

She couldn't contain herself and gave into laughter. "You don't even _have_ toes!"

"Man I thought these were supposed to be bad or something. That was lame." Stretch said.

She sighed, two more and they were both awful. No doubt Fatso played the first one she read. If so, she was fairly certain where the other one came from.

She read the next card, "_'A garbage clown who makes no one laugh and should die.'_ Wow, this one is rough." She finished while giggling. This wasn't going to be so bad.

She looked at the last card.

"Read it." Stretch demanded greedily.

"I knew it."

"_Read_ it!"

"_'Spinning your dick around like a helicopter'._"

The back of his head began to twirl in a perverse mime.

"Super gross." said Kat. "Thanks for that imagery."

The others followed suit in rancorous harmony, propelling themselves upward into the ceiling before circling back around in a dramatic crash-and-burn that left them as a goopy mess on the edge of the table.

"_'No-Legs' wins 'cause I actually laughed._" Kat called to the goop.

"_Ooh goody!_" A thick pair of arms sprouted and clapped happily and the rest of the Trio reformed.

"No love for Garbo the Clown, I see."

"I'm sorry, Stinkie, it just wasn't Garbo's day today."

"What do I win?" asked Fatso.

"This badge of honor." Kat said and handed him the black card of the first round. "And divine-right as Card Czar."

Fatso turned over a new card to begin. His eyes opened wide and in a deep voice he boomed, "_Blank. Changes. Everything._"

Everyone took a moment to choose their cards. Stifled chuckles seeped out into the air. They placed their choices forward.

"Okay let's see, what-do-we-have-here... Oooh. Haha, what?! _'Having fingers for teeth'!_ It changes everything."

"Don't look at me, these are Garbo's cards." Kat groaned.

Fatso read another card.

"_'Getting blasted in the face by a tee shirt cannon!'_ Changes everything!"

Stretch formed his arm into a cannon and proceeded to blast the interior with ectoplasmic ammunition. A cabinet was slain in the reckless fire and its dry-good innards spilled onto the floor.

Fatso donned a theatrical narration to his boisterous tone. "_Announcing...that I am about to cum._"

"_Noooo_!" Kat shouted. "_Noo-oh!_ La-la-la!" She threw her fingers into her ears and shook her head wildly.

"I'm offended at the very idea you'd expect me to do something so vile." Stinkie said, disappearing a smoky megaphone behind his back.

"You're also a really bad liar, Stinkie." Kat said behind her covered face.

Stretch had found himself in a fit of giggling hysteria.

"Well I think we have a winner." Fatso conceded, flicking the card on the table.

"Yay! Garbo wins! I'd like to thank the Clown Academy for believing in me." He grabbed his prize closely to his cheek and gave it wet smooch.

"Congratulations, Garbo. What'll you do next?" Fatso him.

"I dunno, probably eat some shit and roll around in garbage for a bit, whatever floats me."

"I can't." She was struggling for breath.

Stinkie turned over a new black card.

"_'I got 99 problems but 'Blank' ain't one of them.'_"

Everyone took a moment to decide and play their card.

"_'French fries with a smell that reminds me of my dead father, who also loved French fries'._" Was the first one read.

"Why you gotta go tear open old wounds for, Kat?" Stretch groaned.

"_Sorry we killed your dad._" They all said in exaggerated unison, and then used their strange abilities to appear a steaming basket of translucent fries and began to cry tears that formed salt shakers.

"You guys don't have to act out every single one! And how do you even know that's my card!?"

The groan of large wooden doors signaled the return of her father.

"_Heeeey_!" She called, waving a wave he couldn't see but was done of habit.

"Did you bring the booze?" Three voices again spoke at once.

"Yes, I didn't forget about that." An older mans voice carried the sound of more swishing plastic bags with him.

"Hello sweetie. Boys." He greeted everyone once he entered the room and made his way to put the drinks he was tasked in buying in the refrigerator.

"Come join us! I told them you would play. Sorry about the mess."

For a ghost, it was far easier for their forms to process liquid than solid, as the living inhabitants had found. Drinking was one of the only few earthly pleasures the floating dead could know.

"Whatcha playing?" a light voice asked.

"Nah, you're too young for this." Stretch said.

Kat made a face and rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him, you can play if you want to."

Casper took a look at some of the cards. If a ghost could blush, he would have been bright enough to halt traffic. "Uhh, I think I'll just watch you guys."

"Oh c'mon Casper, it'll be fun." Kat said to her friend. "You just have to try and play the card you think will get the best reaction."

"Think I'll pass on playing but I don't mind sitting here." said her father as well.

It was clear Dr. Harvey wasn't very interested in this scandalous game either. He sat a little away from them and began rereading a newspaper he'd skimmed during breakfast.

"Suit yourself." The Trio shrugged.

They finished the round. Kat had won with 'french fries' just so they could poke fun at the living recipient of the joke who still seemed very disinterested.

Without another moment wasted Kat flipped over a black card.

"_'Blank'. That's what she said'._"

"Oh boy." Kat hid her face in her palm.

"What _is_ this?" Her dad finally asked over his paper.

"Your daughter's idea." said the Trio.

"It's a game with swearing and penis-jokes written on the cards." She said in a playfully defensive tone reserved for children to their parents.

"Charming."

"You'd play it if you weren't such a 'dad.'" She smirked at him.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head into a tired smile as he went back to his paper.

"Alright, let's get this over with. _'Filling my briefcase with business stuff.'_" She snorted. Stifled chuckles spurred out across the table with her.

She read another."_'Feeling that the future is hopeless and there is no world for our children.'_ Stinkie, are you okay man? Do you want to talk about it?"

"What we need to do is talk about is the declining educational systems and global warming."

"I think you and Garbo should stay off the internet for a while." Kat joked.

She read the last card.

"_'Pooping in a leotard and hoping no one notices.'_ Well that doesn't do her any good if she's just announcing it like that."

Even James chuckled at little.

"Who had _'business-stuff'?_" Kat asked her contestants.

"I had _'business-stuff'_." beamed Stretch.

"Congratulations, you win." She handed him his prize card.

Stretch turned over a black card. Kat rose up to get a spiked soda from the six-pack in the fridge as everyone chose their cards. She grabbed the other resting pack of cans in its entirety designated for the Trio and set it on the table. The crispy noises of tabs and caps being pulled filled the air in a brief stir.

"_'They said we were crazy. They said it couldn't be done; putting 'Blank' inside of 'Blank'._"

They all had two white cards left, and the black card in play required both of them.

"Hahahehe— _this_ is what I'm talking about! _'Having a dick for a neck'_ and _'Plowing that ass like a New England corn farmer'_!

Slamming fists and chattering glass bottles pounded on the poor old table.

"Clearly this is the winner. I don't even need to read the rest."

Kat moved to get another spiked soda from the dwindling six-pack.

"Aw, damn she's hittin' the liquor hard fellas. Watch it." Stinkie chided.

"It's not that hard. It's only four-percent." She twisted the cap off and took a quenching drink.

"_That's what she said!_" Stretch cackled, waving his prize card of the same phrase.

"I did say that." she agreed, taking another swig.

"Want another?" Stretch asked.

"No, I think I'm good."

"Lightweight."

"Yup, that's me. Sleepy after two. Don't wanna risk falling into a manhole or anything. By the way maybe you should stop too, you're starting to drip a little." She said, pointing to distract from the redness in her cheeks that signaled a slight buzz bubbling.

Stretch looked down at a small puddle gathering on the floor.

"It happens." He took a hefty drink from his can. This one he was able to keep contained.

"Think that's where I'll call it. Good night gentleman. Good night Kat." James resigned as he stood from his seat.

"Love you." she said, waving softly to her father as he head into the kitchen stairwell.

"_Love youuu._" the Trio chimed in a mocking mimicry.

"Yeah I think I'll go to bed too." Casper yawned. "Good night everyone."

"G'night." said everyone.

"Whatdoya wanna do now?" Fatso said after a while. It seemed the high of the night had come to a low as everyone drifted off to their own means. Something Kat was silently very thankful for, she didn't know if she could withstand the embarrassment of having it revealed which two cards were hers while her father was still within earshot. She wasn't going to mention it either and hoped the end of this fun occurred for everyone.

"Let's go hang out at the theater, I think there's a couple new thrillers playing. Should be getting close to the scary parts of the late showings." suggested Stinkie.

"Just don't give anyone a heart-attack." Kat said, gathering the empty trash up.

"Couldn't prove it was us anyway." he responded with a short wave. "You coming, Stretch?"

"Eh, I'll decide what I want to see, then I'll catch up." said Stretch.

The two exchanged looks but shrugged and flew off.

Kat stacked the decks and neatly put them away into their box. She took it and the empty bag with her and headed to the library, where the rest of their games, both board and video were kept. The great doors creaked shut behind her. She walked over to and set her box upon a shelf holding a number of her childhood favorite games and some recent ones as well. The day she had brought her first console and the fights over who would play first and which of the few games she had then was the first time she could really say she felt at home. A sense of stability that had traveled behind her every time she and her father were propelled across the country surrounded her. That day she had hoped the moving had stopped for good.

"Oh, hey. Sorry I didn't see you." She said to Stretch as he floated out of the shelf when she moved aside a rattling jigsaw puzzle. She turned and began crossing the room.

"What was that?" Stretch called.

"What are you talking about?" Kat looked over her shoulder, reaching for the door.

"You know damn well." he said, "that game."

"I thought it would be fun." Kat turned to face him. "You had fun. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Stop making it into a big deal."

"I dunno, I just can't shake this feeling, _fleshy_." Stretch said. "Like you was trying to say something with some of those cards."

"I feel like you're projecting, but humor me; what do you think I was trying to say?" Kat asked.

In a flash his entire head extended to her, his neck and body following in a rubbery coil. He did this a lot, it was one of his go-to scare-tactics he used to make her jump and get a cheap laugh out of her reaction. It worked this time as it had nearly every time.

"I think you was trying to tell me a dirty little secret about yourself, Kitty Kat." He was inches away from her face.

She was frozen. Why couldn't she respond? Her mind was blanking, she'd have given anything for a retort, an excuse, anything to get the last word.

A pang of guilt snaked it's way through her into a silent, thrilling giggle that floated butterfly kisses in a downward spiral.

_'Shit! Think of something, anything!'_

A even-fingered hand that was as a cloud touched her cheek. The look in his violet eyes told her, _'You can do better than that.'_

This is it. There wasn't any turning back now. It would mean the death of their dynamic, but couldn't something better rise from the ashes?

His hand was cold on her face, but soft; like the first splash of water on your skin when it's finally warm enough outside to jump in the pool. It washed over her in a soothing numbness. She wasn't shivering, but she knew she may start and that she may not be able to stop if so.

_Warm thoughts_, she beckoned. And warm thoughts swarmed her when he kissed her opening mouth. Her sigh was caught in an eerie vacuum, the force itself wanting to be free of this unnatural new place. Until a second, much hungrier kiss welcomed her air into him and another and another until the need for breath forced her to break a moment.

He was still _cold_, yes, and with a little help from the spirits she enjoyed earlier, now she could think past it. An ache quivered in her at an impulsive notion, what if...he could...?

They continued.

His hands were becoming much more adventurous, gently trailing their way up her side. He seemed to be cautious in his movements however, as he would never quite reach where she expecting, and it was at this point she felt a new and deep decent arriving on the path of no return as his hands slid down again. She wanted him to do more as tingles spread goosebumps on her flesh. And as if he could hear her, she felt the cool pleasure and touch of his tongue on hers.

In a fleeting moment of dread she knew that this was a stupid thing to do, and would no doubt bite her in the ass some late night when he's too drunk and mouthing off to his buddies. But desire was stronger than caution this time.

She nodded slightly as their lips met once more. It only took him a second to meld into her underclothes and his long fingers crawled up her skin. A chilling shock pleasantly began to flick and play with her nipple. Her toe curled, letting the worn floorboard steal her shudder.

The aches deepened and pulled with every motion of his deft hand. Her sighs are caught within his throat. She wanted to moan and tell him how good it felt, but she didn't trust herself to be quiet enough for only him to hear. The large rooms in this house were a careless whisper's enemy.

But just then a thought crossed her mind as his thumb continued to gnaw an icicle pleasure; wasn't he an enemy only a few moments ago? Who was she trying to fool?

She couldn't admit it aloud to him that she had thought about being in this kind of situation before. And to herself; only in the ways that dreamed wordless thoughts into conjuring sensations into quick flashes of a wispy silhouette, somehow equipped and pumping sweet, killing blows into her curiosity. On those nights she'd wake with a wanting lust that she could never quite satisfy.

_'No, there's no way. There is no way. But maybe... maybe if we...with his ta—Ew! No. No. That's like his feet!'_

Stretch pressed closer. She fidgeted her hands a moment. There was a light _click_ and the sound of a zip falling. The aches growing in her body had won their right. And this was something that seemed to ignite a small fire in him. He groaned kisses into her neck in a hushed, silvery echo that nearly made her knees buckle when he nibbled. A soft kick and the garments were completely discarded.

His hands quickly moved to cup her bottom, stroking and squeezing her skin. If he had nails, no doubt she would feel them in his grip. She opened her mouth but remembered, and bit her lip instead.

"You actually _want_ me to touch you like this?" He asked wryly, giving the soft and firm skin he held a pat. Clearly he didn't care about the subtle reverberation.

"_Maybe_." she whispered sinfully.

"_As long as you're okay with where this is going, Kit-Kat._" he whispered back.

"I'm curious to find out." she said, half-smiling into another kiss that wasn't there to meet her.

"Well then no." He let go of her. "I need a yes or no."

"If I don't like something, I'll tell you to stop and then you do, fair?" Kat said.

"Fair." Stretch agreed and gestured to the red loveseat in the arrangement by the tall arched windows. Thankfully, it was upholstered with cloth and on a thick and intricate rug.

"Can we...?" she asked, looking around once she got comfortable on the seat.

"Can we what?" he murmured while finding his spot hovering and bent over to meet her.

She said nothing but her face spoke exactly what she wanted.

"No... I can't— I mean, _that's_ kind of the main trade-off with the whole _'being a ghost'_ thing." he said with a hint of defeat.

"Well _that's_ just stupid."

"You're telling me! I can kind of feel it... I can remember what it was like and what it should feel like...phantom limb is not exclusive to the living. _'But Stretch, why not possession?'_, I hear you ask. You might as well have handed me a bowl of tofu and told me to eat it with a strap-on."

"Um. No one—"

"Trust me, doll. I would love to..." He leaned in so close his mouth touched her ear, "_Love to be fucking you right now._"

Careful. She had to remember the walls could sprout ears at any moment. It wouldn't be the first time the Trio said they were going to go do something only to return spooking the second her guard was down. And surrender a cry so soon? Where was the fun in it for him? Her strained exhale swam in a beam of moonlight.

It was silent for a moment until he pulled away.

"Not to say I couldn't do other things," He mused, eyeing her. "Since you seem to be dripping for my attention." A devious grin.

"Oh? What?" She couldn't help herself.

"Scoot this way." He motioned.

She did. Naked from the bottom, she shyly spread. Stretch licked his lips and lowered.

His tongue glided across her silky fold. She instinctively recoiled at the coldness.

"Is that a 'no'?" Stretch asked.

"No, it's not a 'no.'" Kat replied.

"Mhm, _good_." he lowered his face again.

"Stretch, wait a sec."

"_You're killin' me, fleshy._"

"Are we alone?" She had to be sure. If not... She would rather not think about 'if nots'.

"_Yes_." he whispered.

"Good."

He began again with a few soft tugs of his lips. A few reminiscent of how he kissed her mouth. Her unkempt state bothered him not. His tongue swirled around her center of pleasure in both wild and gentle pace. She had known glittering sensations existed; this wasn't her first, or even second sexual encounter. Another of her secrets. But _this_. _This_ was different.

And then...

She gasped. Unmistakable, his tongue was _growing_! Head back, and her eyes closed she took her knuckle into her mouth and bit down hard. The heat that had been bubbling inside her was enough to sizzle against weighted chill beginning to thrust inward.

She finally surrendered her loss to the game. Quiet shaky whispers slipped out every harsh breath she couldn't fully contain. She clenched the cushions in a feeble attempt to regain restraint. The thick force entering her repeatedly was _so cold_, but he was filling her with _fireworks!_ The realizations of what he was doing caused squirming, tight spasms when she caught a stray glance. She imagined for a moment what it would be like to run her fingers into his hair. His eyes were closed. It took a lot of focus for a ghost to solidify themselves and she didn't want to break any of his precious concentration.

As he dove far deeper than in her dreams, his nose rubbed feverishly against her sensitivity, throwing her writhing over the edge. She had taken the frilled corner of a pillow into her teeth to wrap her gift of screams and whimpers and muffled _yeses_ to him. She hadn't realized she was still pushing herself onto him until the haze began to settle in.

He slowly pulled his tongue out with a crude, slick noise and swallowed. "Neat trick, huh?"

"Yeah... impressive for a strap-on." Breathless, her lips had begun to bear a slight shade of blue. She had spent too long in the pool.

He chuckled lowly, rising slowly to examine his work.

She didn't let him have his moment long as she was in need of something to cover her legs before she was like to freeze. She wasn't about to let him see the blush she felt rising on her cheek either. Quickly, she grabbed her pants and jumped into them with a few shakes.

"You know, this sort of thing never ends well." said Stretch.

"What do you mean?" she asked, rubbing her shoulders for warmth. How could he know her fear so easily?

"I mean, let's be honest; it's not going to take everyone long to figure something's happened between us. The boys and the Doc aren't completely dumb, they will start to wonder, start to see that we're sneaking around, if we aren't careful." He started to caress her.

"Bold of you to assume this is going to be a regular thing." She smirked, pulling her zip up.

"Try telling me that again," He said, using his skills in permeation to slide a crooked finger past her clothes once more and into her depths, firmly pressed against her. "And this time, try harder to convince me you don't want _this_." He teased her with a kiss that she groaned into a tortured furrow.

"What's... in it...for you?" Cold marble and embers stirred inside her. She desperately needed something to brace against the long fingers twisting and turning.

"I like seeing your face like this. I like knowing I can do this to you. You mean to tell me this is the only time I'll get make you _this_ _wet_? Come on now." His voice told her what an exhilarating mistake this all was.

She would have the debate in her mind later if she really did want this to continue. Right now, she only wanted the tension carried between them for so long to release. She let him continue for a moment more until her twitching legs gave him sign to cease.

"We've made quite a mess, haven't we?" She said, half rebellious, and half ashamed.

"Eh, I'll tell 'em I sneezed. No one will notice." Stretch dismissed.

"I will." She said, looking back at a single drip of glowing saliva drop onto a curling pattern.

"And even if you clean it—by the way, this shit is hard to get out of the floor—I'm still gonna remember what you let me do to you there." He wiggled a moistened finger at her and _booped_ her on the nose with it.

"You're so _gross_! Why are you so gross?" She hissed in a hushed tone, wiping her nose with her wrist.

"Oh, I'm gross huh? Wasn't it me just now whose face you rode off into the horizon?"

"I'm gonna go deal with this before someone wanders in here." With the little strength she had to will her legs to carry her, she went to fetch something to erase the evidence. A box of tissues nearby served. But he was right, and the ghosts of small droplets had made marks in the rug, hopefully invisible to the ignorant. Not to mention the new state of her pants as well.

Moving around a little had begun to warm her, but yawn decided it was time for bed.

A sharp whistle was sent her way as she crossed the room to the heavy, wide doors.

She stared daggers back at him.

"What, I can't admire your ass now?"

"Not like that if you want a chance to even be able to 'sneak around.'"

He silently sealed his lips to assure that she had made a point. That was a quick debate.

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	2. Chapter 2

A few days had passed. In the interim, the exchanges between Kat and Stretch did not change much. They both were doing well to behave as if nothing had happened. She had also done well to keep herself busy, taking this afternoon to go into town to pamper herself in the nice weather. Dr. Harvey had received a request for an appointment that would take him down the same road, and she rode with him until her desired stop as she often did when he would get prospects that would call him away for a while. She kissed him goodbye, wished him luck, and asked that he call her to let her know he was alright. She put on a pair of headphones and started her slow, pleasant walk back to the manor.

When she arrived, she found the place quiet. The hairs on her neck faithfully served as her warning otherwise. She set her bag onto the kitchen table and went looking for the source of a windless draft.

"Hey." Stretch greeted her as she entered the library.

"Hey." she said back. She wondered if she might find him here.

"So, _ahem_, about the other night."

"Yeah?" _'We must be alone,'_ she thought.

"You still... Uh..?"

"Are you having second thoughts?" Kat asked him.

"I figured now that you've slept on it a while, you might be." Stretch shrugged.

A thought of a moment after dinner the night before slipped into her memory; Stinkie had asked her if she wanted to play that card game again. Kat offered an excuse that the soup had been so filling, a food-coma was imminent and she was going to retire early. Secretly she hoped that a signal may have been caught by someone else in the room.

_"I see how it is. Not Garbo's day today either?"_ Stinkie had replied then. He was a lot like his taller brother, except while the one had been allowed to keep some of his charisma in the afterlife, the other was only stuffed with curdled-milk that was trying its hardest to be sold as specialty-cheese.

"Why would you think that?" Kat asked the tall ghost. She wasn't expecting this, especially after she had pretty much told him he was good to go as far as possible. But it seemed that her signal did not reach him, as she spent another night alone.

"I dunno," Stretch said, "I just thought—"

"Look," Kat began with a sweep of her hand, "I'm a grown woman, I can make my own mistakes."

"_Mistake_? Damn, why don't you tell me how you really feel." Stretch chuffed.

"_Can_ we be real for a second?" she asked, her tone was serious.

"I guess?" He shrugged again.

"I'm going to die one day." Kat said plainly.

"What the fuck?"

"And before that, I'll probably move out and have some sort of a thing people call life. I'm three years from thirty, still living at home." Kat stepped closer to the lanky ghost. "I like what I have now though, and I don't want miss out on what's in front of me." She took his icy hand, and it felt there for her hold to take. "But, sooner or later, it... it won't last. You even said yourself these things never end well."

"Why would you move?" Stretch asked in a low voice.

"I... I might want children one day." Kat responded.

"Oh. Well... yeah. I can see where that..." He looked away as his words trailed off.

"But for now, I don't. And who knows, maybe I'll never move. I haven't decided if I'll stay after Dad dies... You guys wouldn't kick me out, would you?"

"This has taken a dark turn into a conversation I didn't want to have. Where is all of this coming from, Kat? I thought you liked it here, that you liked us. Maybe even me?" His long arms extended to wrap around her. "You really think after fifteen years we'd up and throw you out?"

"I don't really think that. And I..." A swarm of snowflake butterflies had trapped themselves in her spine, she shook them away. "I do like you. But, what are you going to do when I'm old? Or would you find a way to ensure my unjust demise while I'm young and pretty?"

"That's an option?" He said with a twinge of whimsy. "I'll keep that in mind."

"That is not an option and never will be." affirmed Kat.

"Why not? It's a lot of fun being a ghost."

"My dad couldn't remember me at first. That... that's worse than just having some you love die, it's like having them die twice. We wouldn't exactly have a pinky-swear as something to jog my memories, either. We don't know if I would remember you."

"You think you wouldn't remember me?" He sounded himself but she could hear a hint of hurt.

"In this scenario, I like to think I do. But, I'm also not willing to risk forgetting you and everyone else." It would have been dishonest to say she hadn't thought about this before. How could she not when surrounded by beings with strange and unusual abilities. And if they played their cards right, the ghosts had all the time that time itself offered. But the risk would never be worth the reward, she had always decided.

"Plus, how does this work when I'm a ghost?" She motioned to herself.

"Well... it gets pretty limited, I won't lie to you." said Stretch.

"I like being able to have an orgasm still."

"Just rub it in my face, why don't you?" He jutted his head forward and stuck his tongue out.

"Oho, that's an option? I'll keep that in mind." She gave him her own devious grin with his words and reached out to taste his mouth.

"Let me take you up to my room." he whispered, sliding a half-permeated hand up her back.

"That's gonna be a hard _no_." she said, suddenly unmovable.

"How come?" he asked as he was snapping the taught fastener on her bra loose.

"Because that's... First of all, it's not just your room." She didn't discourage his advancing movements, she even surprised him by swiftly taking off her shirt and tossing it and her loose bra aside.

"It's just us right now." he begged when he saw her bare skin.

"The door hasn't been opened in years, I'm sure the window hasn't either, so it's probably really dusty in there." She crossed her arms.

"Please, you're afraid of getting a little dust on your butt?" Stretch gave her a little shove.

"No, I'm afraid of leaving a butt-shaped impression of unnecessary questions." Kat said.

He took a second to think. "Good point. But, doesn't that excite you a little?" He moved a little closer to try and slide her arms apart.

"Not as much as it seems to excite you." She shoved back at him, but her hands reached right through him. She huffed.

"Don't worry so much." He had started to work on coaxing the button of her jeans loose. "Even if Stinkie and Fatso start askin questions, and even if it got to a point where they knew about us, I'd tell them to keep their fuckin' mouths shut."

"It's still a no." She couldn't deny a smile that he referred to her as half of '_us_'. However, as much or as little as the idea indeed excited her as she helped him undress her more, she was fervent in ensuring there would be no need in hiding more than having to. It was starting to become worrisome on her mind, keeping a secret like this. It reminded her of the times she felt like the Trio could read every thought and anguish on her face, a few nurturing crushes for example.

"What if I cleaned up?" Stretch asked, admiring the simplicity of her undergarment before flinging it behind him. They landed on the floor, sliding under a bookshelf to be claimed by the darkness.

"Then they're gonna ask why you did that." She wasn't happy about having to go get those later.

"To which I can respond, _'because I wanted to.'_" Stretch replied in a matter-of-fact as he sat close to his clothes-less companion.

"Still no." She shook her head, but looked back at him with a small smile. "I do wish there was something I could do for you though." she said.

"Oh yeah? Such as?" His brow rose with his smirk.

"Like... what you did for me for instance." She blushed a little.

"I'm sure that would be nice, Kit-Kat. Sorry to disappoint ya."

"No. No, I'm not disappointed." She shook her head again. She didn't want what he lacked to be a source of negative tension in this venture she'd thrown herself into.

"You could do something for me, though." he proposed, slinking closer to her again and leading her to lie beside him.

"What?"

"Okay, I'm just gonna throw this out there, if you want to." Stretch held a hand up to assure her she had an option to decline.

"What? Tell me." Kat's eyes widened.

"Talk dirty to me." He gave her a wicked grin.

"W-what?" Kat stammered out, trying to brush it off with a giggle.

"You heard me." Stretch said.

"Like, _'I'm a bad girl'_?" She wasn't really on board with this idea if it was going go down that sort of road. This was Stretch after all and she did have boundaries still.

"Not exactly," he chuckled a little, "but good first try."

"Okay then, like what?" She would at the very least pull something, if maybe a little ridiculous out of him.

"Just um—talk to me about what you'd do if I were... Just lay here with your head on my chest and whisper some sweet-nothings to me so I can sleep tonight. I won't talk back, much. I only want to listen."

"I can try." She cuddled up and fit herself into a pocket between his side and his arm. His embrace was cold, and held a form in a way the skin on her fingers and on her body couldn't quite translate. He was there, but not; a sense of thrill and fear that one holds in their hand just before they dare to break the surface tension and peer into the ripples. She brought her leg over where his would be and took a deep sigh.

"Yeah. This is nice. Real nice." he said in agreement.

"So, do you want me to start?" Kat asked him quietly.

"We can just lay here for a bit longer if you want. I'm enjoying this." Stretch replied.

There wasn't much room for two on the loveseat, but they made it work. A bit longer went by, Kat gathered a little courage, cleared her throat and as quickly as it was summoned, it all disappeared as soon as a pestering feeling made her realize it was daylight and she was very naked in a very large and open room. She flustered.

"I-I'm not good at this. And I'm starting to feel embarrassed. I can't think of anything to say with you looking at me like that. Like _that_, stop."

When he looked away there was a stint of sadness that he shook aside with a scoff. She couldn't help but feel remorse for twice denying him something that might return the favors he'd given her.

"Could I have a chance to think of something first?" she asked.

"I have nothing but time, sure. You gonna sing me a soliloquy?" Stretch smirked.

"A sexy soliloquy, yeah."

"Okay wow, that was bad. Now _I'm_ embarrassed. Get out of my house."

"You don't mean that, shut up." She rose up and took a pillow to smother his face, knowing and not caring it would sink right through him.

"I don't, come here."

She was curious, looking at him there with his arms behind his head. His eyes looked heavy, but still carried a shine. He gave her a smirk and lifted his hand to touch her calf.

If she could kiss his mouth, and he could feel it, then perhaps he could feel other things. It was clear he was lacking a certain component but she knew not having skin and bones didn't stop ghosts from feeling pain. And if he could feel pain, surely he could feel pleasure. He did say he could remember what it was supposed to feel like.

"Can I try something?" she asked.

"Go ahead." he replied.

She positioned herself over him, the chill of his strangely solid, yet viscous body cushioned her nether. Tingles spread through her that she channeled into lowering herself to meet his face. She lifted her hair away that draped her shoulder like a dark cowl and kissed him a few times on his mouth and his face and neck, moving in different places so as not to touch the same spot, save for his hungry lips which she gave plenty of attention. She could feel his breath, if you could call it breathing; subtle pressure on her chest as she held his face into her. It was like a wave was pulling her farther out to sea with every lick of his tongue, so dangerously close to sharp rocks that could dash her to pieces. She toiled with his mouth again and let desire lead her breathless again.

She continued to try her something. Using her nimble fingers she traced a few lines down his chest and kissed softly along them, stopping where she thought his navel would be. He sucked air through his teeth, which caused her to quickly look up in a start. His brow was tight and he had bitten his lip. Before he could open his eyes to meet her she was readily exploring her theory again. She imagined he had a slight belly to him; he had the resemblance of one that revealed him to be a drinker before death. She thought with her fingers on his satin shape, about if he would have a trail of hair that lead from his navel to his... Her mouth played along the invisible line. His chest was beginning to don a slight heave to it, though he was quiet. She inched herself lower down his body, letting her softness drag along him. It filled her with exhilaration she exhaled into a misty swirl. This time he gave her the smallest of noises with his own sliced outward breath. She moved herself forward, and back again using herself to sense the being beneath her. She gazed on the shiny mark she'd left on him and giggled to herself, reminded of his _boop_. She slid off the loveseat and leaned to his lower side, resting her face below his torso. She stole a single look at him to ease her hesitation. In the second she had caught his glance he looked strained, but in a way he seemed to be enjoying.

She took this new fuel for her ambition and pressed her mouth against his certain spot. It was a smooth surface, but it didn't stop her from experimenting with a tiny lick of her own, or firm touches of her lips. She opened her mouth and pulled a soft suckling into a long love-bite. It tasted strange, as if ice could taste like the smell of an old book and metal. The sharp but sparse inhales above her told her to please, keep going. In her empty hand she formed it around a solidness she imagined to be there and mimicked a few motions he might use for his own imaginative means. When she took him against her mouth once more, she felt him rise attentively. She kept at this for a while longer until his heavy breathing began to taper out. She wiped her mouth off and slithered up his side.

He cleared his throat. "That was certainly something."

"Did it work?" she asked as she wiggled back to the snuggling spot waiting for her.

"Despite your lovely efforts doll, it's not going to '_work_' but, yes, that... felt amazing. You really had me believing you had my cock in your mouth. If I could cum, you'd be choking on it for sure."

She whimpered a little from hearing him say such a foul thing so close to her.

"You'd _like_ that though, wouldn't you?" Stretch nipped at her neck. "I'm sure you think about it. You looked like you know what you were doing. Who taught you that? You didn't just pull moves outta that fine ass of yours from nowhere Kitty-Kat." He grabbed himself a handful of her bottom and squeezed.

"I do think about it." She wasn't going to answer his other questions. "I think about how long it must have been since anyone has touched you. I think about what it must feel like to hold that in for so long." This time she leaned into where his ears should have been and pulled on what she could feel lightly with her lips. He fell quiet.

"Does it hurt you?" She whispered. "Does it feel good? The answer is, yes. Because I feel it too." Kat pressed her breasts against his chilled form. "I can feel it deep inside me when you kiss me. I get so _wet_ thinking about it..."

He groaned in a stiff short breath. She could do this after all, feeling delirious enough to say anything if could will what she really wanted into existence.

"I never expected you to do that with your tongue the other night. It never happened that way in my dreams before." Her heart was beginning to sprint at the betrayal of her own self. She laughed at its recoiling shadow huddling in the corner of her mind. She found his hand and guided it to her inner thigh. "I took a bath the next morning just so I could touch myself and remember how it filled me up."

"_Damn_." He hissed when his touch released a silky sound against her.

"I might cum right now just thinking about it here, Stretch." She began to use his hand to mimic how she had tried to replicate the motions of his tongue. She sighed at the blend of tendrils and flesh, whispering moans against his the side of his head. "Let's go take one together after this. I want to know what it would feel like."

"You're lucky I don't need to breathe."

"No. No you don't. _You just need to stick your cock in me._" She was beginning to get close her orgasm, her fingers keeping the motion above while his own worked below.

"_If I could..._" He inserted another of his digits, pushing crooked and aching trembles feverishly. He rolled himself on air and kissed her intensely, he wanted to drink in her tender noises of ecstasy. She twisted beneath him for a few moments until her body allowed her to relax. They laid together as a windless pile.

"Maybe I could though, maybe?" Stretch pondered half-whimsically, breaking a lasting silence.

"I thought that was like eating tofu with non-utensils for you." Kat had begun to dress herself. She disguised a shiver by shaking out her top.

"I don't mean that. I mean for good."

"I don't understand." she said, fitting her head through the hole of her shirt.

"Did you know that there is a machine, _right below your feet_, that can bring ghosts back to life?"

_'He can't be serious...'_

When she and her father arrived years ago, after settling in and unsettling the residents, and after tricking their ill-intentioned patron into finishing her business, she and her tiny ghost friend spent weeks that turned into months delving into the books of the library. They were trying to uncover the secrets of the Lazarus. Rediscovered and faded news clippings told a story of an eccentric and heartbroken father trying his best and failing to find a cure for his sick son. The son would later die, the story read, and the father would go on to construct a strange and awesome machine to bring life back to him. That is, until the locals deemed him too much of a harm to himself and others and sealed the poor man away into an asylum before the switch could be flipped.

That explained Casper's side, but there was always something... odd about the other three. Something in the air that no one in the manor could remember enough to form the right questions. They knew they were brothers, and that Casper was their nephew, but when they died or how, Kat could never get the details out. Even Casper couldn't remember exactly when they arrived, but he knew it was after he died, and after the Lazarus had been built. But, getting anything from the Trio themselves; this wasn't something they liked to share or just couldn't remember. Eventually, she stopped asking after getting nothing as answers, and she respected her father too much to ask him to break his confidential fidelity.

"We can't, there isn't any more... whatever it was, left. There was only the one." She paused a moment and remembered, "Well, there are a few bottles that have a little bit left in them and if we could put it together, that'd be about a fourth of one if we're lucky but... I don't think that little amount will work for you."

"We can make more, couldn't we? Make enough for everyone!" Stretch's eyes lit up as he snapped his finger.

"It isn't that easy." Kat shut him down.

"I'm sure the how-to is in here somewhere." He wasn't going to let it go that easy.

"It is, but it's in pieces. Casper I looked, but I don't think we ever found all of it. We didn't even put what we found together once we realized about the uh..."

"The what?" Stretch piped.

"The ingredients list." Kat said with unease.

"It can't be that bad. What's in it?"

She was quiet for a moment. "It takes a lot of blood. _Blood_, Stretch! Like a scary amount... An amount large enough to warrant being put away if people knew or suspected that you had that much blood." She looked around. The manor creaked in its old stutter, as if to shake off a terrible memory.

And just then, a jolt tickled her brain. "Hang on, I think I just..." Kat began looking around the room.

"What?"

"I remember on that page it said six gallons are required. That's as much as maybe four people have. Or maybe—"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that maybe one really tall person, one fairly large person and one average person had enough to split the difference. I'm starting to think, no, now I'm _positive_ you guys were murdered to make that stuff."

"Hm." Stretch seemed puzzled with his thoughts and Kat's words. "You know," he said when a minute had passed, "there might be some merit to that."

"Really?!" Kat beamed.

"Yeah... it's mostly just a fog, but, hm," he trailed off into thought again.

"It's okay," Kat tried to assure him. "Take your time. You don't even have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's not that, it's just trying to recall this stuff. That was a long time ago. A _long_ time ago. Getting over a hundred years now I think, maybe two."

"Oh." Kat blinked.

"I can remember bits and pieces but most of that time or before is just, a dark mess and then one day it's me and the boys and Casper and we're here like we'd been here for a while. I do remember, once in the early days, a nice black car pulled up out of nowhere. Two fleshies come out and they got a little bonebag waddling behind them. Me and the boys are thinkin', _'what's this, who's this now?'_ Casper wanted to greet them but we said hell no to that— don't give me that face, we've lightened up on him over the years, haven't we? And you wouldn't be letting me dig you for gold like that if you thought I was still an asshole."

Kat wrinkled her nose, "Sometimes you can be."

"Don't interrupt Kitten, I'm getting to the good part. So the fleshies are fixing to stay a while, talking about renovations and things and you know how well that set with us. But I said, '_let's just keep spyin' on 'em and we'll get 'em when they least expect it._' The kid was the hardest to keep Casper away from, and the boy's parents never really paid attention to him. This kid was one of those quiet types that never really wanted to interact with anyone but always wanted to play with the taxidermy animals. Pulling out the stuffing and sewing it back in, weird right? Kid could barely walk yet and he's doing pretend surgery. So one day, Fatso decides to get in this bear he was messing with..."

"Oh _no_..."

"Ohh yes," Stretch nodded and grinned widely. "I'm sure you can imagine what happened after that."

Kat was quiet for a moment as she reflected in the story he shared. "I wonder who they were," she said after a time. "How would they know to come here? Did the house get put up for sale?"

"No, I don't think so. I can't say for sure, I don't remember everything."

"_Carrigan_..." Kat said bemused.

"What's that bitch got to do with this?" Stretch asked, surprised he had heard that name, it had been quite a while.

"She inherited Whipstaff from her father, right? How did he get it?" Kat pondered. "Unless... the boy! But his mother... she must have been related to Casper's dad, the deed was to his name wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but he went to the looney bin."

"Before his wife could divorce him?"

"So then..." Stretch tapped his chin.

"So then," Kat followed, "when he died, or maybe when he was committed, the deed went to her. She must have married Carrigan's great-grandfather. Wow," Kat poked him in his chest, not caring it sank right through him. "That's a terrible story! You jerks! That woman may have been Casper's mother and that boy was probably your nephew!"

"Only half." Stretch shrugged.

"Half a brother to Casper, all the same. Did he know?" She eyed him sternly.

"I barely even know!"

"Well, thanks for that, now I have to tell him that lonely little boy he wanted so badly to play with was his freaking brother, and you all frightened him." Kat heaved a sigh. She couldn't feign her excitement in a mystery like this and felt a smile betray her.

"So how do you run that thing downstairs again?" Stretch was still keen on glimmering some more information about the mystery that concerned him most.

"I really don't think you should, Stretch. Before my dad, we... That night, Casper and I tried it out on him, and then it stopped when Dibbs— you remember him— took the bottle out. When I opened the door, Casper was an egg. Like an actual egg. Like sunny-side up, yolk and all. I had to blow him back up for twenty minutes with bellows before he was normal again."

Stretch had started cackling at her description of his nephew and took longer than appreciated to stop. He was learning so much about what had really happened before his brothers and their new best friend had arrived on the scene. The Trio were familiar with a slightly different version of events she and Casper had conveyed; the youngsters had kept secret their true intent with the Lazarus. The demise of Carrigan brought along some unavoidable circumstances however,

_"Maybe she realized that she couldn't win against us and did herself in."_ Fatso wondered from a windowsill to his brother's. They were watching a puzzled Doctor Harvey make awkward small-talk with a body-retrieval crew while a tow-truck pried the remains of a totaled car out of a dying tree,

_"Nah, that sorta thing is beneath a hag like that."_ Stinkie said.

_"My money is on the pencil-pusher she had tailin' her."_ Stretch mused as he observed the damage from behind his brother.

"_You think he—?_" Fatso whispered, shocked.

"_He's gone too._" Stretch agreed. "_But I don't see them pullin' his bones up. Betcha he cut that ghoul's breaks._"

"_You're all wrong,_" a young Kat said. The eavesdropper and her spectral friend peered around the corner. "_She tried to scare us as a ghost. Didn't work though. We made her explode. With simple psychology._"

"_No you didn't, you little liar,_" Stretch sneered at her. "_That ain't possible._" He looked to his little nephew who floated along beside her, "_is it?_"

"_It sure is!_" Casper replied, exerting a bit of bravado.

"_I can prove it too._" Kat assured them.

"_How_?" asked the Trio.

"_I'm not so sure if you guys really want to know, the whole ordeal seems pretty..._" Kat glanced to the floaty specter next to her, "Final."

The Ghostly Trio did not seem to be threatened.

"_If any of you want to volunteer for a demonstration,_" Kat held her empty hand out. "Stinkie?"

"_Look at this fellas,_" spewed Stinkie's laughter, "_the cat's trying to be a witch!_"

"_I'm not a witch!_" Kat protested. "_It's surprisingly simple to do, you just gotta know what your unfinished-business is and be happy with yourself. Oh wait, that's the lethal part._"

The room was quiet for a moment.

"_Think your method's a dud,_" Stretch thumbed in the direction of his brother Stinkie who widened his buck-toothed smile to an eerie and uncanny width with each of his hands. "_This miserable little shit's always giddy with himself._"

"_Do you have a real explanation to offer us?_" Fatso asked.

"_Hm_," Kat hummed for a moment and spun on her heel and began walking back towards the doorway, "_Nevermind. Let's go Casper, they obviously aren't going to get it any time soon._"

"_See, told you,_" said Stretch. "_All wind and no sails._"

She stopped and turned back to the ghosts. If she couldn't trick them, maybe she could frighten them. If the young Kat had any doubt, she was stomping it into the dirt to keep her courage steady. "_Ever seen a wasp-infested tomato-worm?_"

"_What the hell is a tomato-worm?_" Fatso asked, confused.

"_When it's stuffed with wasps, the end result looks kind of like a ghost-explosion. Except the wasps are these beams of light that burst out and then there's nothing left of you._"

"_Uh-huh._" Stinkie nodded up and down. "_Does your dad know you're as high as a kite?_"

"_I am not high, Stinkie!_"

"_She's telling you the truth!_" argued Casper.

"_Well how can it be a wasp if it's already a worm?_" the smelly ghost asked, full of snark.

"_The wasps are a parasite to the worm. And it's not even a worm, actually,_" Kat corrected herself, "_it's a caterpillar. They're just called tomato-worms because they like tomato plants._"

"_How can they be tomato plants if they're already caterpillars?_" Stretch asked.

"_Ugh! You know what? Just forget it!_"

"I thought Bulbhead's noggin looked a little bigger." Stretch continued laughing.

"_Ahem_." Kat had been very careful at the time to make it seem less large, rather than the opposite, but she blown her friend up a bit too hard, resulting in a slight pop.

"Are there some bellows lying around down there? I kind of want to know what it's like to be an egg."

"It didn't look enjoyable. It looked slimy and gross and _undercooked_." She winced.

"Does it hurt?" Stretch wondered.

"If it did, he didn't say." Kat shrugged. "I never asked Dad."

"Probably didn't then. He's a bit of a whimp."

"Hey now, I've heard you whimper over less. Recently." She raised her eyebrow.

"Listen, you." He leaned in to meet her playful kiss on his mouth.

"Six gallons, huh?" he said when they parted.

"Yeah... that's... kind of insane." Kat felt a thread of guilt that needled questions she was ashamed to want to ask her tiny friend. She felt even more remorse having been so blunt about his tragedy without his input.

"I'm sure I could find four guys who have it coming." Stretch said, thinking with a wicked glint.

"No. Absolutely not. That is where I draw the fucking line Stretch." Kat pointed her finger at him so roughly it poked through his chin.

"Hey, take it easy, I'm just kidding."

"No, you aren't. You might not be serious right now, but I know you are not kidding. No one else is going to die for this shit, I fucking mean it." Her expression was filled with fire and cautioned him to tread lightly.

"Okay. Okay. Simmer down before you scratch my eyes out Kitty-Kat. I promise you, cross my heart, I won't kill anyone. Or lead them to their death. Or get them too drunk to see the open manhole behind them. _Behind_ them, remember that very important little detail? There were signs and tape on the way into the bar and he still fell!"

"Whatever, I wasn't there, any one of you coulda done something." She crossed her arms in a huff.

"The boys and I was still in shock from having been the recipient of his big fat kiss and blubber about how much he loves us, so..."

"Hold on, what?" Fury had suddenly become skepticism.

"Haha yeah! Oh, you didn't know about that?! Huh, wonder if he still remembers, I'm gonna go ask him later."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. The air around them swam mired and heavy.

"If only it wasn't so gritty, huh?" Stretch sighed.

"It was worth a thought though. Just, not _that_ worth it." Kat said.

"Hear me out for a second. You fleshies have err, what do you call them, uh... blood-drives, right?"

She hesitated, "Yeah?"

"What if, instead of taking it from someone who didn't want to part with it willingly, we just—"

"Steal it from someone else who actually needs it?" Kat interjected.

"_I'M THE ONE WHO NEEDS IT!_" he roared, taking a startled, jumpy gasp from her.

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout. I'm just... This is right here! It's right here! Out of all of us Kat, you really don't understand what it's like to live in this place, year after year, knowing this machine is in my fucking basement and I can't even use it."

"I..." She was as pale as he, at a loss for words. She knew he was right though. How selfish did she have to be to say she was the only one who could benefit from this mechanical wonder.

The cost was not equivalent to the reward.

In her mind a million scenes played out, most of them reading as newspaper headlines with the same story as the ones she had found in the forgotten rooms, only with that of her and her father's faces on them. She'd had enough of seeing her name in news columns or bit-specials. But he was still right to want this.

"Please, Kat." Stretch's pleading expression was one Kat was not used to. "There's billions of you humans, billions. That's a sea and all I'm asking for is a few buckets, Bucket."

"You don't get to call me that." Kat said in warning, dropping one of his hands from her shoulder.

"Sorry, _pails_ then."

Kat growled. "Even if you can somehow manage to get that much blood down here, how are we going to keep it cool, huh? I imagine that's an important factor. We don't even have all the steps, let alone know if it's complete."

"I always liked a good treasure hunt. Just tell me where to start looking. And you're a smart-cookie, Kat. You're the one who got that doohickey to work to begin with. If anyone could figure the rest out it's you."

"You're really giving me too much credit, it wasn't just me who made it work." She looked at him in the brief silence. He had a longing desperation to him. It would be grand, she couldn't deny it, and his eyes begged her to help him.

And if they succeeded, it could even mean a second chance for all the ghosts. She pictured all of them for a moment, and sighed. "Just so you know, I'm not completely okay with this idea. I will... try though. I'm not helping you get the blood however, you are definitely on your own. And if you find some, you better find it in a fucking medical bag."

"I swear on my life to be, this will be a painless procedure and no one will be hurt." His demeanor had become shades brighter.

"How are you even going to get all this blood?"

"I'm a fucking ghost, Kat. All I gotta do is pop outta the blood bank and demand it of poor frightened nurses and I'm pretty sure they'll just give it to me."

"You do you I guess." she said.

"I intend to. Now where do we start looking for this recipe for disaster." He wiggled his fingers together and licked his lips as he scanned the room for potential spots to turn inside out.

"It's all over the place, some's in the library, some of it's downstairs, some of its upstairs. I think this one has a page, actually." She spotted and lifted a torn leathery book from the desk her father used and flipped the musky pages until a loose sheet freed itself.

"Oh. It's _this_ page." she mused while scanning it.

"Which one?"

"The _list_..."

His eyes tore over the scribbled note as fast as he had ripped it from her hands. She peered on her toes over his shoulder, which still wouldn't have done her much good were his body not transparent.

"_Phosphorus, silicon_, I was expecting like, bones and lungs and shit when you said blood. Oh... _here_, yeah."

"Some of this stuff, I think we can order as capsules and break them apart. Activated charcoal for the carbon we need, _magnesium_... _calcium_... There's plenty of water around, but it's saltwater, so we'll need to figure out filtration somehow. I wonder if the system down there still works." She continued to read off a few of the items required.

Fortunately advancements in medicine had developed a pill or tablet for just about anything that makes up a human. The body was surprisingly simple when broken down to its barest components. But the amount of each item needed for this venture could prove to be suspicious, and expensive. The lime they needed would be a challenge. Limestone was easy to come by along the southern coast, but up north the rock was much more hardy. She wondered how easily she could have some sent to the manor. Surely there would be a niche site she could find, willing to sell her a spare stone or two.

"And refrigeration. That is going to be vital. You don't happen to remember your blood-type do you?"

"Uhh...? Does that matter?" Stretch asked.

"Only if you want to live long." she snickered.

"Uhm." He obviously didn't know.

"Okay then, I guess we'll start with _O-Positive_. Think you can remember that? It's the easiest to transfuse and there is usually never a shortage. Who knows, maybe when making a brand new body from scratch, we get beginner's luck."

"I gotta say, I'm really starting to like smarty-science Kat."

"Well, I'm not a doctor or a biologist, in any way, just so we're clear. And you're too willing to put so much of this on me. What if it doesn't work? What if something goes wrong, or the hospitals in town really want their blood back?"

"We can say we tried, and I can leave it at that." He picked a petal from a flower that did not exist and tossed it into an empty wind.

"That'll be super easy for you when they cart me off to prison." she bit.

"Relax, Kit-Kat. I will take care of the bloody business."

"I'm telling you this once, okay? I'm only going to try as far as I'm comfortable. I won't stop you from finishing on your own, if you can—but the second I start to smell danger, I'm done, Stretch." She cut her words across her throat.

"I won't ask any more of you, Kat."

"Good." She nodded once.

"Except for one thing." Stretch added.

"Ugh, what?"

"Give me another kiss?" He pointed to his face.

"Sure." She smiled and granted his request, happily giving him a few extra he hadn't asked for. The two soon floated up the stairs, the sound of water being drawn followed quickly after.

"I don't know why you even bothered to put your clothes back on." chuckled Stretch as he closed the door behind him.

###    
  



	3. Chapter 3

A few more days had passed, another of the pages was found with precious notes of parts and how the Lazarus was assembled. Kat's vacation ended and she returned to her working schedule that kept her away for most of the daytime. As luck would have it, a small refrigerator was brought into the shop, a little worn but perfectly functional. She brought it home with a casual story of how she'd like to have the convenience of it in her room and snuck it into the basement cavern when the chance presented itself. She had considered the uncomfortable excuses required for some of the more questionable items they needed and resulted in having them sent to her work. Those items arrived, she could carry them under a jacket or hide away in her bag.

Dr. Harvey returned not long after from his own professional ventures and with great news that his most recent client had been so relieved that the old woman had given his contact information to her friends. He would be expecting more calls soon. His experiences had branched out from mere ethereal therapy and had blossomed into sensible and caring company that helped the elderly and loved ones with some of their affairs before their demise. He was an impartial mediator to offer a chance at letting go of emotional baggage before that baggage took form of its own when the body perished. Dr. Harvey also had a few business cards in his pocket for that kind of situation as well, should the unfortunate happen.

It would still be a while before Kat and Stretch could really roll their sleeves up and begin to dive into their secretive science project. But that while eventually withered out and the two whispered plans to conspire downstairs once the rest of the inhabitants were occupied or unsuspecting.

"I didn't hear you come down." said Stretch as he was tinkering with tightening bolts on the control deck.

"Good. I disabled the chair-switch and the rest of the stuff, then rerouted the power to a button I soldered at the bottom of the stairwell last week. Now I can open the door in the floor quietly. Can't really be discrete when the Up-And-At-'Em's entire purpose is to make as much noise as possible. It is a long walk though."

"Just don't break my house."

"You didn't even build any of this did you? And by the way, I've fixed more of this house in the whole time I've been here than I'm sure you ever did when you lived in it." Kat fired at him.

"Yeah, probably. Come look at what I found!" Stretch waved a yellowed sheet of paper in his hand. Kat hopped off the railings onto a metal catwalk and made her way towards him. He handed her the page and she read it.

"Huh, well, we might not need that much blood now that I'm looking at this. I'm certain that we can combine what we have already... these side notes here about the '_purity of the substance's enduring viscosity_', I think that means we're okay."

"I'm all for carrying less, it's hard to be weightless enough to fly and solid enough to carry this shit at the same time." Stretch said.

"Nope, no details. Don't want to know anything about how or where." said Kat.

"You're screwed anyway if anyone finds out, Kit-Kat, so just quit worrying already."

The look she gave him cautioned him to choose his next words carefully if he wanted her help.

"We still need few more trips, sadly. But, some more good news; I got very close to having these filter lines sorted out last night. I need like, five more feet to loop around here, split it off into this filter over here, and then circle back into this beaker. Then we should be good to see if it leaks."

"So, we're getting close to done?" asked Stretch excitedly.

"Close-_er_. I haven't had a chance yet to look at the wiring that opens the door to let the main power source rise. If it's intact, then the challenge becomes, '_does that still work_'?" said Kat.

"Oh, it'll fuckin' work." Stretch threatened the Lazarus.

"Let's hope your anger will be enough to will it so. I still need the last page, I'm pretty sure that one will us what I need to look for when we start to actually...brew this stuff." said Kat. "This one... just goes on about the finished product and nothing about how he got to that point."

"You can't just throw it all inna big pot?" Stretch asked.

"No? I don't think so? I don't know, which is why we need to find the possible instructions."

"Listen to you, you need written direction for everything?"

"I've never done this before. And yeah, I'm one of those weirdos who will read the directions before trying to put something together. Do you think my dad read the instructions when he got the sound system we have? No, he didn't. Who did? _I_ did, and I'm the one who set up it the _right_ way the _first_ time trying after I untangled his mess. You know how I fixed the lights the first night we got here? I read the diagram on the inside of the cover. It was that easy. I do this sort of shit to make money now, you realize that, right?"

"Sorry, I stopped paying attention about halfway. All I heard was you'll figure it out." Stretch said with a laziness.

"Mhm, fuck you." She nodded.

"That's my plan, Kit-Kat." His long neck and body started curling around her.

"Ugh, you are too much right now. Go... do something useful, take a look under the pod and tell me how bad the wires are."

He went off with out a word and whooshed underneath the grated metal walkway into a pocket of space that housed the machine's mechanical nervous system.

"_Uhh_..." he echoed.

"What do you see?"

"_What am I looking for?_" came his booming question.

"Is it all in one piece? Any loose connections? Do any of the wires have colors?"

"_Kind of hard to tell... no—wait, yes the ends here have little colored rings. I see blue, orange, green and red. Yeah. There's a bunch here, oops, little thing broke off._" There was a light _clanging_ as a small metal piece _plonked_ it's way into the reservoir.

"What was that?" Kat asked.

"_Looked like something that held them together so they wouldn't get tangled, but they're all still connected. _Unf_— seems sturdy_."

"That's good to know." She smiled and scribbled some notes.

They went on working together. With Stretch's somewhat helpful description, Kat was able to follow along with the diagrams drawn on the page. She penciled in a few lines above as he listed off what he could see that might need replacing or tightened. It had been fifteen years since the Lazarus had last been used, and who knows how long, if ever, before that. The hours they put in turned to days and then a month passed combined with the infrequent trips the tall, lanky ghost was required to make for the necessary ingredients. Eventually, he had finally gathered all the blood needed for himself, and had started to collect a little more for his family. They would take time though; Stretch was having to venture farther and farther each outing to remain inconspicuous.

Finding time for the two to also be alone together was proving to be struggle as well. And when they were together, it was close by someone else. A few times Kat had to convince herself to stop looking at him, or to think of something else other than how his hands or his mouth would feel on her skin. The two would take turns working on repairing the machine and leaving each other notes on where one had left off.

One morning Kat fortunately had off from her job, she awoke to the even more fortunate circumstances of an empty house. She rushed her way to the basement, but skidded to a stop in the hall when she heard a loud clamor of drawers being roughly drawn and closed coming from the Trio's room. A thunderous _bang_! and the door was thrown open with a cloud of dust.

"Kat!" came Stretch calling, "I found it! _Kaaaaat_! Oh— there you are! Look! I think I found the last page."

Still a bit dazed from the sudden shock of barely missing a door to her face, she held out her hand. He'd found it alright. On the page sprawled dozens and dozens of detailed notes about the entire refining process. They had everything they needed to really get cooking now.

But now that they were alone, they had other plans to take care of first. It wasn't long before their lips found each other's, her garments found new resting places and her strained moans found their place in his throat. Once she was clothed and could focus again, the two rushed downstairs to begin the refining process. Each item was set within the intricacies of the system in place that shone bright with polished gleam. Within a few mere hours, thanks to improved filters, the powered minerals merged into liquids that collected in a bright ruby jelly and seemed to almost hover, never touching against the glass that contained it. Kat gave the full vial a little shake and it's contents lapped and giggled.

"Annnd, I think it's done." she said, carefully disconnecting and tightly sealing their precious treasure. Stretch gently took it from her and placed it securely in the wheeled holding well designed just for it.

Kat opened the cover of a stone-solid book. A shiny black button poked out of a hollowed hole in the book's center. She pressed it, the Lazarus gurgled and jerked as the battery tower arose from the sloshing opening in the reservoir. Kat was soon up to her post to operate the controls. They were full of glee, and anxious for what awaited them next. The two gathered close and Kat pulled Stretch down to savor his chill as a ghost before it would be gone for good.

"Oh, so _this_ is where you been hidin', _eh_?"

Kat spun around. A shit-eating grin from the floating eavesdropper contrasted the heavy dismay that quickly drowned her. "Stinkie, uh, hi, uhm, what are you doing down here?"

_'Of all...of all the times! Really!?'_

"Well you see," Stinkie began, "I was looking for my brother whose been being awfully flakey lately, come home to find my room is a wreck, then I hear this _dreadful racket_, and curious about my poor brother's health I figured I'd look for him and, what do I find here?" His rancid smile widened, "Nothing but conspiracy. Does your daddy know about you two and all this, hm?"

"Watch it." Kat hissed.

"Or what?" Stinkie laughed. "Think I'll go and spread the word..."

"_No the hell you don't!_" Stretch extended his reach in flash and clasped his grip around his brothers neck and mouth and yanked him close. "Now, you listen to me; yeah, we're down here, this is _exactly_ what it looks like and we're trying to get the Lazarus running again— yes, that means even for you and Fatso and Shortsheet. So if you go _tellin_' on us, who's to say if the Doc's moral compass will allow this little conspiracy to continue to fruition?"

"_Hmffrrrmrrphhgggnnfffr_!" Stinkie muffled in questioning argument. Stretch uncovered his brother's mouth.

"What do you care if he tells you no?" Stinkie sneered, roughly shoving the choking grip from his throat.

"I don't, and I'm gonna do it anyway because I am my own man. But you keep your fucking trap sealed and this'll go by a lot quicker for all of us. You or anyone try to spoil this for me, and I'll make sure you wish you could die again." Stretch's violet eyes were bright with a fiery intent.

"Hmph. So," Stinkie turned to Kat, "Gave up on the little one, eh? Like 'em _tall_ now? Am I on the list too?"

"I'm going to break your face you as soon as you come out of this thing, just so you know. Keep talking, see if I don't." She was furious. If she could punch the big-mouthed ghost she would have right then.

"Whatever, we all saw it coming anyway, didn't we?" He eyed his brother.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" she yelled.

"Heh heh, wouldn't you—" But then suddenly before he could clarify, a fist sprung to him as though it were fired out of a cannon and launched Stinkie screaming straight up through the ceiling into the floor above them.

"You shouldn't have done that... now he really will say something."

"Just let it go, it'll be alright." Stretch said in a vain attempt to quell her fear.

"What did he mean though?" she questioned her companion.

"Let it go." he said.

"_No_." Kat refused.

"_Yes_. Let's get back to work before—"

"No, if you know, you tell me what he meant." Her hand grabbed the handles of the on-switch to the control bay.

"You're killing me fleshy!"

"Better tell me before you go then." She flipped the large, buzzing switch downward and the machine hissed and spat and whirred as it started to simmer out of power. Stretch's confused and angry and defeated self lingered helplessly in the air.

"It was years ago, okay? And we were also drunk at the time—"

"Of course."

"We were just talking shit... inconsequential stuff, and then the guys started ragging on you and I just said you weren't bad to look at. I may have added a '_from behind_' but the details are hazy."

"See, that's actually something kind of a little nice to say, why was that so hard?" asked Kat in a joking tone.

"Because as soon as I said that they smelled fresh meat and pounced and you wouldn't believe the hell I got for it for a while."

"My deepest sympathies." She bowed her head and covered her heart.

"Hey, you don't have brothers, you don't get it." Stretch said.

"Guess I don't. But, thanks. It's nice to know you had a little crush on me before." She grinned with a favorable breeze to her ego.

"Don't flatter yourself. You were completely unbearable as a teenager."

"How long ago was this?" She gave him a look.

"I'm not a fucking creep alright? I mean, I am, but I am not _that_ creepy. I have my own moral compass too ya know. It's off it's axis but it's there. This particular drunken event was after you'd turned eighteen. Lemme pose it back to you, when did you like me?" he asked.

"It's hard to say." She rubbed her chin. "It's kind of been an ongoing battle for a long time between these two emotions that make me either want to fight you or fuck you."

"I just happened to catch you that night on the fuck-me side, hm?" He raised his brow and returned her grin.

Kat couldn't help but laugh. "Yup, that's how it went."

"So, how do you feel now?" Stretch asked.

"Like... we've gotten ourselves in some deep shit." she said.

"He's probably gonna say something to Fatso, probably doin' it right now. They'll leave Casper to you, trust me. Your dad's any guess. But, I saw his face when I said he'd have his opportunity. Stinkie wants this just as much as I do and he won't do anything too stupid to screw his chances at life again."

"Dunno 'bout that, he might have lost my help." Kat turned her nose to the air.

"You don't mean that. He didn't mean what he said. Look, we are so close I can taste it. So close Kat. Please, let's just get this done and over with before your fight-me side decides to stay for good." He took her hands to help his case.

She sighed and turned the switch upward. The Lazarus gathered itself and brimmed together with life again. Stretch zoomed over to the elixir's holding well, inspected it quickly and flew back over to his partner.

"This is it then?" he questioned, suddenly a little nervous and partly stalling for time.

"This is it. Are you sure you're going to remember me?" Kat wondered, nose wrinkled.

"I'm not even sure if I'm gonna remember me." Stretch rolled his shoulders.

"I hope you do." she said, trying not to show how scared she was by that possibility.

"Better give me something sweet to help me along then."

"How's _this_?" She stood on the tips of her toes and melted with him into a long kiss.

"No way I could forget that, Kitty-Kat. Wish me luck!" In the next second he was inside the pod of the Lazarus. Kat leaped over to the holding well and turned it clockwise. The elixir slid into place and gurgled its way into the new lines that fed it into the machine. Steam spouted and licked the lips of the exhaust pipes, the control panel started to shake and rattle. The water below was churning and sloshing against the power beacon that screamed in its success. The humming settled, it was time to open the door.

"Is it still you in there?" Kat asked cutely into the mist, "Oh! Wow, okay, you're naked." She blinked and looked away out of instinct.

"Makes sense, I went in naked." a man spoke, sitting plainly.

"It is you!" She turned back smiling wide and leaned inside for a closer look.

"Don't be so sure yet, let me check first." A firm, fully-fingered hand reached her cheek and a warm set of lips touched her mouth. "Yep. I think I'm me. Now let me get out of here."

"_Now is a bad time to mention I didn't think to get clothes for you._" Kat whispered.

"_Or it could be a great time._" Stretch whispered back.

"No.” Kat groaned. “Gang's all here."

"Don't go sounding so happy to see us puddin', got room in there for one more?" Fatso's loud voice carried through the entire cavern under the manor.

"Eventually, yes, but we need more—" Stretch began, holding himself steady as he fumbled out of the pod.

"_Pfffahahaaaa_! Your pinky is showing man! _Wooowooo_!" Stinkie wailed, pointing and laughing.

"Hey! Let go of me! Get off my face uncle Fatso!" said Casper as a thick and large arm swept around him.

"Trust me, you don't want to see this and you'll thank me some day." boomed Fatso.

"Oh Kat, look at how _cute_ it is! Don't worry, it must just be _a little cold_ down here buddy." Stinkie chuckled.

"Get a load of it and all it's fresh-baked goodness! Take it all in fellas! Look, it can do tricks!" Hands on his hips, Stretch spun and gyrated their eyes tightly shut with exaggerated disgust.

"_I'm running_." he whispered to Kat, and before she could realize, he hopped like a jack rabbit over the stairway and speeding across the railing into the tunnel. His brothers followed him hooting and hollering after, despite Stretch's cries of, "_Get the hell away from me you sickos!_"

Kat was left alone with Casper.

"It's okay, Kat." he said, "You don't need to say anything. I get it. We've... talked about stuff before too, and yeah, I get it."

The _stuff_ he was referring to were a few conversations that had taken place during a few key points in Kat's life. When she was young, she loved her friend, and on more than one occasion had exploited the very limited benefits of sharing a room with her specter. But, she grew older, and he could not. And also did not know how to guess at what she didn't know how to ask for. Certain changes in her body would then go on to encourage her, and perhaps a parental nudge from her father, to find her own room. Most of all she had wanted a space all to her own to be free when she felt a desire to explore herself.

"I...guess I didn't expect you to take it so well?" Casper may have been young at heart but his own lingering time had matured him. Kat felt a mixture of guilt and relief in finally, in her own way of coming clean.

"As long as you're happy. He certainly looked like he is, and I care about him too. And I get my own chance at living too, right?" Casper beamed brightly.

"Of course. You should go next. It would piss Stinkie off _sooo_ much. But, it's going to be a while, it isn't like we can one-day ship the... you know."

"Oh yeah the _be el oh-oh dee_. How did you get so much?"

"Blood donations. From... blood banks. And that's the story I'm gonna tell the cops. It's not a great one. I'm still hammering out the details."

"Hah, maybe one of us should stay as a ghost just to scare them away." Casper mused.

"That's not a bad idea, let's keep that on the back burner. Is my dad here?"

"Yeah, and I'm sure that's gonna be a really fun conversation." Casper chuckled at his friend.

And right then they heard James' shocked stammering at the naked man sprinting away from ghosts chasing him in the house above them. One bandage down, it was time to rip the other one off.

"Who the hell are you!?" yelped James, dropping the mail he'd been carrying.

"Its _me_ Doc!"

"What the fuck!?" James held his head in a double-take and shielded his eyes.

"Yeah, I know. Long story. Listen, you got some pants I can borrow, man? I wanna talk but not with my dingus hanging, you know what I mean?" Thankfully he was considerate enough to cover himself, bowing legs in an angsty dance.

"Oh my god, what— y-yes, sure, top drawer— _Kaaat_?!" James called to his daughter in a voice that shook the entire manor.

Gasping for breath from running through the long tunnel of the Up-And-At-'Em, she held up a finger to stall for just one more moment and then she confessed to her father all they had been planning. She left out a lot of the more... scandalous... and bloody details however.

"You actually got it to work?" he said, honestly a little impressed. "With just a few things you can find online?"

"We did, yeah." Kat was a little amazed and slightly still in disbelief that they had managed to pull it off.

"Wow. This... is a lot to take in. The kind of good that can be done with this Kat, do you even realize?" said the Doctor.

"It isn't... it isn't that simple, Dad. And after everyone here is back, I think we should destroy it."

"Destroy it? Why?"

"The cost is too much. And, this place is ours." said Kat.

"Hmm. Well, for now, you need to go find something else to do because I'm going to go have a chat with the man rummaging through my drawers."

"'Kay, have fun!"

The hours flew by in the evening, Stretch found some clothes. And the need to rest from the excitement and laughter and games played around a hot dinner was enough to put even death to sleep. _Goodnights_ were exchanged and bedroom doors closed.

###    
  



	4. Chapter 4

She heard a narrow creaking of her door opening and the shallow light that blanketed the hall shone through a single beam. A shadowed silhouette entered and squeezed through the slit he had made himself. Careful bare steps strode closer to her bed. She lifted back her covers to make room for her guest, her bed carried it's new task of holding their secret well.

She reached out to touch him, to surprise him with her naked state. He was indeed, and rushed to rip his shirt above his head, Kat helped him with the pajama pants he'd borrowed from the Doc. Quickly, their flesh and mouths and tongues became entangled in each other. He scarfed tight handfuls of her sensitive breasts and ribs, and her bottom, rough and tenderly. Familiar and new all at once, he had been so cold before, yet melted her with ease, and now this simmering that surrounded her with his long limbs could soon reduce her to a puddle. She leaned up after a bit and with courage he was helping her gather, she lead him onto his back, brought her leg over and in her new position she let her own hands travel up and down his narrow torso and slight belly while a blisteringly hot and very solid mass rested firmly against her backside.

It took a second for her to really find him. In her impatience she gently, yet hurriedly held him in place. She slipped him inside, a stiff warmness slowly entered and replaced the wanting void that had been roiling for ages. She took a deep quivering breath, he was more than she had anticipated and to take all of him at once was such a delicious agony. The excitement was already enough to send her reeling.

She began to move. All was seamless, her hips rocked back and forth and up and down again; motions he would be able to see were his hands not busy sliding down his own face. She heard them fall and grip the bed below them with a plushed _thud_. Surges of tingles filled her insides the more she moved and the more adventuresome his now traveling hands became. Her vision had adjusted to the shape beneath her; eyes she knew were purple but were shut tight and a contorted expression that reminded her of tasting something sweet and tart. He could try and look at her with his dumb, stupid-fucking-handsome face all he wanted; he was right where she needed him to be. Further she went, biting her lip so much so as not to let herself get carried away by the current. It was when his all too eager bounding and his thick thumb knuckle on her aching sensitivity began to stir came her real challenge in remaining graceful. She could try to hide her sounds within with all her might, but not the soft noises their bodies were making together. Moments continued forever in the dark and danced arching backs with hushed whimpers and strained clutching at air.

Holding in her expressions of pleasure had started to gather a tightness in her ribs and inner thighs that clung to him. She leaned forward to loosen the strain, his grip was tight on her ass.

"_You'd better cum for me..._" she bit into the pillow his head rested on.

He groaned and soon did as commanded, his warmth pulsating into her. She fell quiet to listen to his sounds he gave with his release, gathering it all within her to expel it in a blissful, pleasant sigh.

In the next second he rose up and pushed her over onto her back. A gasp and the two had traded places.

"_I'm not done with you yet._" He dove in again and devoured her. Her legs coiled around his lengthy body. She breathily moaned into a handful of cool sheets and let the rapids thrash her against the rocks. His pace was hungry and clumsy, but his work was doing electrically well to drive her wild. He pressed himself close, sweat dampened their faces. Kat didn't mind.

Stretch broke away to catch his breath—or rather, to hold her shoulder and hip to brace himself and plunged relentlessly into her, _so deep_, over and over. She dug nails into her bed and teeth into her knuckle to keep herself from crying out. Oh, how she wished she could _scream_ for him. She decided to spare her bitten finger, leaning herself on one arm to devote some attention to his neck and prominent collarbone. If she left a mark, she didn't care. A short and low growl purred against her lips. His pounding became a struggled, groaning spasm of spurting heat that quickly poured again into her. A spot of his lightly bristled flesh hit against her in an exquisite caress, sending her insides recoiling and throbbing around him. Kat begged him with hand around the back of his head to let him taste her shivering moans, hoping this wet and loving mouth of his would help hold the noises she desperately tried to contain. She shuddered a little when he finally slipped out with a glistening sound. He collapsed next to her, heaving as though he'd just swam the Atlantic.

He soon remembered his composure, cleared his throat and rolled himself over with an inviting raise of his arm to welcome her into a cuddle. But instead she got up to take care of an ample and slithery new sensation that trickled down her inner thigh. The light tearing of tissue through a box and crumpled sound following it's discarded path to a waste-bin crinkled through the euphoric ambiance. Kat returned to claim the spot still waiting for her and she curled up closely to link one leg with his. The two sighed, satisfied and content. In the darkness and musky scents and the low mumbles from the two as side-effect of such intense sensation, sleep quickly joined in their embrace.

The next morning, they awoke abruptly to the sound of hard knocking on the door.

"Breakfast is ready." came the stern voice of James Harvey behind the wood.

"Shit, shit, _shit_!" Kat sprang out of bed and frantically began getting dressed.

Stretch yawned, rubbing crusted sleep out of his eyes, "We're gonna be fine. For once in your life, get in trouble. It's fun."

"If he doesn't kill you, I might."

"It's all good doll, I'll just revive." said Stretch casually.

"Where are your pants?!" she hissed under her breath.

"I'll find 'em. You'd better go down first, it'll look better."

Kat threw the shirt he had worn at him. Frantically trying to lessen the messy state of her hair, she reluctantly opened the door and prepared herself for the worst as she made her route to the kitchen.

"Oh, morning Sunshine, don't you seem well-rested? Doesn't she?" chuckled Stinkie from his seat at the table.

"Shut the fuck up." spat Kat.

"_Kat_." James tersely intervened. She couldn't look at him, not yet.

"So where's uh, hmm, geez what do we call him now?" Fatso asked.

"Still Stretch." Footsteps came down the stairs and into the kitchen hall. A tall man with shadowed stubble, ruffled un-combed hair and in his borrowed clothes that were just a bit too small for him strode to his usual seat at the long wooden table.

"'Sup Still-Stretch, how's it feel bein' a bonebag again?" Fatso asked him.

"Feels pretty great, gotta say. Feel like I could run to town and back. Is that coffee?" He wasted no time in gathering the steaming delectables that decorated the many serving plates and bowls.

"So, you two?" The Doc asked exchanging among the newest arrivals to the kitchen.

"Are we really gonna do this here, during breakfast, _right now_?" Kat protested with a plate full of pancakes.

"Yes, we are." said her father. "But, all I'll say is that I hope you're being smart about this."

"We are." she lied. They hadn't been. She made a mental note to schedule an appointment with her physician later today. They were inevitably going to need contraceptives.

"Alright then." James sipped his coffee and leaned back in his chair.

"Argh! When's it my turn in the damn thing?!" Stinkie slammed his fists on the table, frightening the plates and glasses.

"Yeah, mine too!" said Fatso.

"And _mine_." said Casper.

"Talk to him. He'll tell you what you need to do for some of it." She pointed to Stretch. "And if you're nice, I'll give you the instructions for the rest."

"I can be _more_ than nice." Stinkie jeered across the table.

James roughed his paper and gave Stinkie a warning look as sharp as knives. The ghost scoffed and turned his attention to his own plate of food that went on its indigestible cycle that morphed into a congealed mess on the floor, a tradition that graced every solid meal. Stretch meanwhile was far away in his own world of greasy fried items and hot drinks to wash it down, perfectly content and perfectly contained.

It wasn't long however before a sudden and harsh rapping on the enormous front doors rumbled throughout. A heavy sense of dread filled Kat and confused looks spread around the room, but she got up to go greet the source of the noise.

"Hello?" she said after slowly opening the door. Two elegant and raven-black cars were in the driveway. Their clean-cut drivers stood on the steps in aviators and suits of matching pitch.

"Hello, Ms. Harvey is it? We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you have the time." said the man on the right, peering behind his shades.

"Um, you might want to talk to _them_ first... _Hey guys?!_"

"Just a moment," the man in the left said, "We only want to know if you are satisfied with your cable subscription— _OH JESUS FUCK WHAT IS THAT?!_" 

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	5. Chapter 5

The following day arrived.

"Whatcha doing down here?" a voice called in the mid-afternoon, down the small stairway into a long and narrow room. The man's question was lacking the subtle and strange echo that used to be behind it. He closed the door.

"Laundry." Kat said to Stretch. A single dangling lamp softly illuminated the otherwise musty-looking room by the kitchen the Harvey's had managed to make into a laundering area. There was a dumbwaiter pulley that had lead to the original area hidden in a hall closet, but the shaft collapsed long ago due to termites. Their handiwork together and with the help of Casper had resulted in a proper ventilation, but getting the water to flow for the washing machine had been a task that neither her father or a younger Kat had skill anywhere near enough for. That had been decided after a wrench slipped out of the Doctor's grip, falling against a copper pipe too thin for the job and bit a very leaky puncture into it. Getting someone willing to step into the house long enough without turning tail and screaming down the driveway had been a daunting trial as well. She remembered the bargaining her father had to do with the Trio to lay low so they could have clean clothes. The old man who had sold James the appliances, from the very shop Kat worked in now, eventually came by and provided some much needed clarity.

The room had been a used once as an impressive cellar for hundreds of canned goods, deep-colored wines and brandies and other delicious necessities in the manor's early days. Most of those had since been gone for many years, only a few jars of pickled beets and eggs and empty bottles remained and were purely decorative at this point. When she was young Stinkie had lost a bet and his payment owed was eating an entire jar of the beets and eggs in one sitting. Of course this bothered the ghost none as he couldn't very well eat anything and only served purpose to fill the entire first floor with a stench that rivaled his own. It took them days to air the place out.

"I can see that." Stretch surveyed.

"Did you need something?" Kat asked lightly. She knew this man well, but still was not used to having the presence another living man in her home. His features had become less exaggerated, and better for it, he still boasted high cheekbones and a long nose, and it fit his face well. He had wavy dark brown hair with a hint of red you could see when the light touched it at the right angle, and the signs of shadow were beginning to grow his jaw. Kat wondered what he would look like with a full beard. She tossed the thought out of her mind, deciding that would not suit him.

"Oh, I need something," Stretch crossed the room and quickly put his arms around her. "Where have you been all day? I went to your room early this morning but you weren't there. I looked all around for you."

"I wanted to take a walk. Had an appointment for a... thing I needed to go do before work today. And also, laundry." Kat said while twisting the cap onto a bottle of soap.

"What thing? Can I know?" He peeled his loose shirt off and tossed it into the washing machine.

"I'm going to start taking birth-control. So," she sighed when a rather enlarged bump protruding from under his clothes pressed against her nether, "that said... we need to be careful for a while until it takes effect."

He was silent for a moment as he processed this new information. "I can be careful. What do you think about—"

"No."

"Okay then." He raised his brow along with his hands.

"I am okay with trading favors though." Kat said.

"What a dainty way to put it. That's what I was suggesting anyhow Kitten, before you so rudely interrupted me. What did you think I was asking, hm?"

"Nope."

He gave her a smarmy wide grin highlighted by his brilliant violet eyes. She shook her head in retort.

"Um," she began in effort to shift the topic, "I've been meaning to ask you though, how do you feel about condoms?"

"I don't know what to think about them. I could try them," he shrugged.

"They aren't that bad, and they're reliable. I'll get some today." Kat placed a few of the items she had brought with her into the washing machine.

"I've heard that it makes it so I can't feel nothin'." said Stretch warily. He was quite done with inabilities to truly feel things.

"Maybe the old ones," Kat said. "They've gotten better over time. And I mean yeah, if you put anything between anything, it will feel a little different."

"I'd rather feel you." Stretch nibbled at her ear.

"So said every man to their lover ever, I'm sure. It's just for a month," Kat closed the lid to the dryer, careful not to let it fall and clatter, though the machine began to rumble roughly despite her as a mark to its many uses. "We've both waited longer before."

"I was looking forward to using this time the boys and the Doc are gone to my utterly lecherous advantage." The back of his hand softly slid down against her breast and he traced its shape.

"Of course the only thing you want to do now that you're alive again is have sex." Kat rolled her eyes.

"Of course. And why not? It's great, and right now we have a chance alone. You're beautiful, you like me, and I like you too, Kat. We worked so hard to make this happen, the two of us." He touched her cheek and leaned in to place a deep and lingering kiss onto her mouth.

"Honestly, if you want the truth, I'm afraid I'll wake up soon to find this all has been cruel dream." He lifted her with ease and set her onto the dryer, his grip was so firm and strong. Her weight steadied the tumbling of the machine some, and she could feel a pleasant vibration that tickled her lower body. Their lips met and toiled again. She soon found herself prematurely without the bottoms she had planned to throw in the wash. Her underwear and his own though still borrowed pants quickly went with them. She brought her legs up to her and held them together at angled slant. He pressed even closer, his hands found her knees and she felt them part as his burning flesh reached through the opening.

"_Ah_... n-no, Stretch." Kat protested. "We shouldn't, not yet."

"Don't you want it?" Stretch did not move. "You're sitting here, all nice and ready for me. _I_ want it, I want you." His whispers were honey that threatened to drown her in a sickly sweetness.

"It isn't that I don't want to... I _do._ I want you inside me now— _ah_!"

"_I can be careful..._" he repeated, murmuring the words into her neck and shoulder, the swollen tip of himself pressing its own burning kisses into her entrance. He pulled and pushed, only a little, she felt it slip out and bend and flick upward when he poked her again, landing hard at a button that cried in quivers. He rolled his hips lightly to rub against her. It was too much for her and too good at the same time, she had to push him away.

"No, Stretch," she urged. "Let me." Kat slid off the dryer right then and placed a fresh warm towel atop an old but stout and sturdy wicker hamper with a strong latch. Its height was just perfect enough to combine with his so when she sat, she could comfortably reach him without strain. She removed her top. The hamper crisped in anticipation for her. She signaled for him to come hither with wry smile and he obeyed on tipping bare feet, full of giggles.

Kat took him in her hand, she let her fingers glide alongside his flesh, her scent still lingered and mixed with his own. Her other hand moved just as gently on his lower back and leg. His body was lanky but his rear had a modest trimmed feel that told her he wasn't stranger to running, though she could not say how old he truly was. Did he even know? He had a few years ahead of her for sure, she spotted two grey hairs mingling among the wiry, dark brown trail that crawled up his belly. She brought him to her lips and kissed him, and his toes curled, one cracked against the wooden floor at her touch. Kat grinned.

She kept her movement delicate and deliberate with her hand and closed her eyes, her mouth opened in a thin part and the heat from him was as pleasant as the warm summer sun. Her tongue narrowly slipped through to greet the spongey tip beginning to weep. He tasted real, and alive. She could sense his blood boiling inside him and it thrilled her to finally be able to torture him so. His manhood in her grasp and using her lips paint a picture of it in her mind, she was going to take her time with him, as a lynx would toy with her catch. She took his head into her mouth and brushed her tongue across its form, familiarizing herself with the light crease that lined up his tender skin ever so slightly into a tiny hole at the top. She tickled it, playing a little rougher with swirling motion when he gave a shudder. She felt him step back and regain balance, causing him to push a little further into her mouth when he caught himself forward. She followed with curious exploration. Stretch was trying to hide it, but she could hear a broken pleading of, “_don't stop, Kat..._” Her tongue spiraled around him and he exhaled something else inaudible and hushed when she brought it up and down again. The tips of his fingers touched her shoulder, and then her hair. He twisted a lock between them and tucked it behind her ear which he then caressed with his thumb and forefinger. She gave him a muffled sigh and brought into her a little more of him to taste.

Her mouth was beginning grow full and there was still more to go. She opened her throat, took a moment to relax and she lowered the back of her tongue, his stiff entirety glided deep inside her. He loosened a grumble that tried to crawl back behind a bitten lip. She gulped and tightened, sucking sweet and quiet desperate cries out of him as she slowly pulled and pushed. Her actions were starting to stir an intensity between her legs as well. She reached for her inner thigh in an attempt to quell the aching that seemed hellishly bent on coaxing her into an intoxicating mistake. Kat was taken aback at how slick she had become.

They had to wait, that was all there was to it.

This was fun for her too, she wouldn't deny, her mouth developing a will of its own, wanting to go faster though she soon wrested control. It emboldened her to know until very recently, it had been so long for him, and that this new body of his had only known her. She grunted at the flurry of exciting pleasure of her fingers and thoughts racing through her mind. She gripped his leg to maintain her focus on her true goal. She let go to catch her breath for a second, and to enjoy the gentle touching of his hands. She continued when the few seconds passed, and this time she allowed herself a little speed. For a brief moment Kat was thankful for the noisiness of the dryer, unsure if she could handle her nerves if the sounds of his solid mass prodding against the inside of her cheek and his ragged breathing was the only thing to be heard. A nerve in his thigh was getting tight. Her nimble grasp at his base aroused a tense sensation combined with the wet and slippery enthusiasm enclosed around him. Stretch's footing shuffled and suddenly his hand was firm on her nape and all of him was gouging her throat. Searing against her tongue he throbbed, cutting out a curse above her into a short groan. A thick and bitter saltiness shot forth, dribbling down and triggered her to swallow with a gurgled whimper she coughed through her nose. She felt it curl, coursing as it settled in her stomach when she pulled away.

"Sorry... about that," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "You alright?"

"Warn me next time, will you?" Kat said, wiping her mouth off with the back of her wrist. She wasn't upset, but she would let him think she might be.

"I will, I'm sorry. Now, as soon as I can stop seeing stars, it's your turn." said Stretch.

She couldn't help but giggle a little. She realized now that a small dilemma had made itself apparent. Without wasting the time for discourse, she hopped back onto the growling dryer.

"My _goodness_," he mused at the state of her with out a follow-up. His mouth was on her in the next instant. His tongue was magnificent, and doing wonderfully to send fiery jolts that were gathering a tension she was near begging for release. With his renewed life however, he had lost all of his chilly 'neat tricks', though now she had no need for imagination to keep herself from shivering. The way it swept across her folds, and feverish flickering, prickly stubble from a chin not yet shaved, the lack of soft cushions to bite or dig her nails into, she couldn't help but squeal.

"Please... I need..." she managed to eventually say.

"What?" A light smack accompanied his inquiry, his thin lips shone. "What do you need?"

"Something..." Kat groaned helplessly.

"You told me _no_, remember?" He lowered his face again and flicked the top her sensitivity with the tip of his tongue.

"You have hands don't you?" And then she moaned aloud, not expecting to feel two of his fingers enter her so quickly, so long and warm.

"You're trembling. Do you enjoy me in you that much?" he said, sliding them in and outward. She couldn't answer with anything coherent, only a stifled smile that tried and failed to contain another moan. He reached a spot that made her cry out again. "This can't be satisfying enough for you. All that time it took to give me a cock I can put in you, and you're settling for this."

She had no words for him, and rolled her head in an anguished sigh. She looked back down at him, her face must have told him what she could not.

"I know, I know. Doesn't mean that's going to stop me from having my own fun with you while we wait." Stretch chuckled, pulling the digits he held inside apart.

"Tell me." His mouth then clutched her center of pleasure.

"I... I..." her voice was broken. She was so close.

"_Say_ it." Stretch whispered. "Tell me you want me in you."

"I want you! _Fuck_ me! _Please_!"

"Sorry Kitten, no can do." Stretch crooked his knuckles and she as flying with his fervent movement. Without the need to hide herself, fueled by desire and alone in the huge manor with him, she could let him hear how he making her feel. He obliged her jerking hips and followed with her motions intently, his fingers never left her but he rose up and took her nipple into his mouth. It stiffened between dangerously adept teeth and tongue. Her eyes shut themselves, she couldn't contain the well that surged and soon after her tightness clenched around lithe fingers hitting _there, there!_

The dryer signaled a job finished.

Giving herself a moment to reclaim her breath and sanity, she leaped off the machine and landed on two feet. "We're doin' it tonight. I am not waiting four weeks." She poked Stretch in his chest.

"Oh right, the condoms, yes," he nodded. "You really want me not to mind them, I can tell." Stretch grabbed the towel they had been sitting on, used it to wipe his hands clean and tossed it on top of the washing machine.

"How are you still hard?" Kat said, noticing his prominent erection.

"I think I must really like your company. And revving up that engine of yours gets me goin' too." he said while he stroked his chin and full of smiles.

"Well, I hate to do this to you, but I really need to start getting ready." Kat sighed, moving to take her fresh and clean-smelling clothes from the dryer.

"You're not just gonna to leave me hanging with _this_ are you?"

"You have hands, don't you?" Kat said, holding his pants up.

"Heheh, well shit, it's been ages since I've done that." Stretch laughed. He reached for them but she yanked them away and tossed them behind her into the open wash, nearly knocking the bottle of soap over.

"I'm positive you'll figure it out. Like riding a bike, right?"

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	6. Chapter 6

"Are you ever going to tell us how you managed to pull this off?" Stinkie asked his brother.

"Yeah, how did you get so much blood, Uncle Stretch?" Casper followed.

"_Blood_?" Fatso and Stinkie asked together.

"_Yeah_." said Casper.

"You got time now?" Stretch smiled. "Have a seat."

As they seated themselves around the kitchen table, Stretch poured himself a glass of orange juice and took a long, sweet sip. "You boys should be extraordinarily thankful for this tale I'm about to tell you, for in it you will find yonder, through hills and valleys, trial and error and the ways to surpass my failures."

The collective eye-roll among the dead was nearly audible.

"So," Stretch began. He told them first about the loose pages he and Kat had found in the books. Casper seemed a little sheepish while his uncle went on, but his disposition changed into twinkling curiosity when it was revealed the last page had also been located. Next, Stretch began to tell them how repairs were made on the Lazarus and where best to acquire the necessary ingredient.

"As luck would have it, I was kind enough to get a little saved for you boys. But we'll need a helluva lot more for all of you. Now, you may think you can just waltz into a hospital, scoop up the rest and out ya go but it ain't that easy. No, what you want to do is scout the place out first. Problem is, it's usually kept pretty deep in the building behind a lot of doors that unlock with one of those little plastic keycard things, and the hospital's windows won't open. So, you'll have to plan your exit route accordingly. When you're in, nine-outta-ten you'll find somebody close, just get in them and look for a stretcher layin' around, and once you find the blood, pile the bags up and make it look like a body, cover it up with a sheet _and then_ you walk outta the place like business as usual." Two of Stretch's fingered dangled in a tiptoe.

"What happens if we're stopped on the way in or out?" Fatso asked.

"_Don't_ get stopped. If you do, get creative. Last resort is to reveal yourself, but... _try_ not to. And you've got to get the _O-Positive_ kind, remember that or it won't work. Now, once you've got the blood, how are you gonna get it back? Gotta move fast before the clock sours it. You can try carrying it in your arms, but you're gonna drop some. That balance is hard to maintain, lemme tell you. Be careful with the stash too! If a blood-bag rips, then you're just asking to get spotted. And if the wind kicks up, or there's a storm, you're gonna lose most of it. Best way is to hide it somewhere off the ground and in the shade if you're workin' in the day and wait until the coast is clear. Dumpsters usually have plastic bags you could carry it with, but don't waste too much time lookin' for a clean one or one without holes. I ended up using this tarp I found one night and strappin' the bags together as a sort of windsail—"

"Why don't we just use a car?" Casper suggested pointedly.

"Huh?" Stretch blinked.

"Yeah, we could get a car and few coolers and that way we can safely carry it all back in one trip." Casper looked around at the Trio. The room was quiet for a moment.

"That's genius, Shortsheet!" Stretch snapped his fingers. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"You was busy thinkin' about somethin' else, I bet." said Stinkie.

Stretch stuck his tongue out at his brother.

"Well, we got a car already." Fatso said.

"Eh, nuh-uh," Stretch shook his head. "The Doc wouldn't like that and Kat would kill me. We'll have to get our own."

"With what money?" Stinkie asked.

"What use is money to a ghost?" Stretch replied.

"What use is a car that can't be driven without feet?" Fatso pointed to his tail.

"Are you thick in the head? What have I been talking about for the last ten minutes? Possess someone! Use _their_ feet!" said Stretch.

"That would probably work," Stinkie said, rubbing his chin. "But what do we do with the fleshy after?"

"We can drop him back off at his home with his car once we're done. One of us will have to make the most trips though." Fatso said.

"I'll roshambo you for it." Stinkie challenged, holding out his fist in his other palm laid flat in preparation for a duel.

"I want to drive some!" Casper said excitedly.

"We'll see. If you can beat me." Stinkie grinned.

It had been a slow day at the shop and Kat began to close it down for the night. She enjoyed the quiet, it allowed her time to read and tinker with the odd wires and screws of various devices, abandoned by their owners and waiting to be fixed up nice and neat for those who would own them again.

The bell chimed above the door as it opened. Kat peered out from behind a display case she had given some last-minute adjusting to.

"Hey Dad."

"Hello Bucket, are you ready?" James asked.

"Yeah, one sec, let me just grab my bag and lock up." Kat disappeared around a corner, a few beeps chirped to signal the alarm, a jingle of keys clinked and Kat was back. The two stepped outside and Kat turned around to lock the door.

Warn and rumbly, the comfortably familiar sounds of the Harvey's station-wagon filled the air between them for a few minutes as they made their way through the town streets. When they approached a stoplight, Dr. Harvey turned to his daughter.

"Are you happy, Kat?" James asked.

"What do you mean?" Kat asked him in return.

"I mean, do you like it here?"

"Of course I do," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I wouldn't be a very good father if I wasn't concerned." said James.

"What are you worried about?"

"You've grown up." The Doc sighed.

"It's a little late to be thinking like that, Dad. I've been grown for a while now."

"I know."

"Well, yes, I am happy. I'm happy with what I've done and where I am now. Even if I didn't go very far." Kat nodded. "Dad?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Why didn't we move again?"

"I, well..." Could he tell her about that night? He hadn't yet, after all these years he had still kept that secret to himself. How could he break his daughters heart by telling her that her mother had visited him? James had tried to prepare himself for the likely questions that would follow, but he could never bring himself to prepare answers. The look in Kat's eye now did little to assuage his fears. He sighed. "I wanted something stable for you. You weren't quiet about hating the moves either, I knew you wanted a place to settle into as much as I did. I did want to stop moving too..."

"Once you found Mom." said Kat.

"Yes." The light changed and car moved onward.

"Casper told me he met her. And she gave him life for that one night. The night of the party." Kat said.

"She did." James replied.

Kat noticed her father's response was not a question. She had not spoken a word to him about what had happened to her either, nothing about the boy with blue eyes who danced with her and shared her first kiss. She didn't know he had been watching from the balcony.

"Did Casper tell you?" _'He wouldn't have, would he?'_

"No. I saw. Or really, I put two-and-two together when your mom... When she greeted me." James clicked the turn signal downward, the car bumbled around a curve as they continued along a gravel road.

"You saw her?!" Kat sat up with a start. "You talked with her?! What did she say? When did she... That... That's so... that's just so _unfair_! Why...? Why wouldn't she say anything to _me_?! I'm the one who needs her..." Kat could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes. She swallowed hard and wiped them away before any could fall.

"She never? I... I'm sorry Kat. I don't have a good reason for why she didn't... I don't know why. I know she loves you and wanted the best for you, and, I can tell you what she told me."

"What did she tell you?"

"She told me to give you the space you needed, she didn't want us to be nosy parents. She didn't want me to smother you either. And most importantly, she said that French fries are not a breakfast food." James glanced over to Kat with a gentle smile.

Kat laughed softly. Amelia would say something like that.

"She isn't like them, Kat. You were right. She was at peace. As much... as much as that hurt me to know, I saw that she was happy." It felt a bittersweet thing to hear. Talking about her mother was not always an easy thing for her, they were conversations she could have only with a few souls. "She is happy for us," James went on, "and I am too."

That surprised her. James did not often let his own true emotions show, but Kat saw through his wrinkling brow into that dull knife that still twisted painfully in her father's heart. How could anyone _truly_ be happy with the fact that their dead wife and mother of their child could find peace without them so easily.

_'There must have been a good reason... Maybe she couldn't? But she could... he just said she had... if it worked once, why not again? Would have been real nice, Mom. There's no reason why it shouldn't. Maybe... there was never a reason.'_ Even so, Kat couldn't bring herself to stay angry with her mother. She could, however briefly, bring herself to be jealous of her father, and angry at whatever contrived system at play that kept her mother from her.

"So, how do the boys feel about you and..?" James broke the silence that had settled in.

"Oh, I don't give a shit about what _they_ think."

"_Kat_."

"Sorry."

"Not even Casper?" James asked.

"That's..." she sighed. "He's the best friend I've had, the friend I've had the longest. I know... this probably isn't easy for him. He said he was fine with it, and he wants Stretch to be happy too. That's just like him. Maybe this wasn't a good idea..."

"Too late to turn back now?" asked James.

"Way too late." Kat said as she slumped in her seat.

"You know, what you want is important as well, Kat." said her father.

"I'm still trying to figure that out." Kat huffed and stared out the window.

"Welcome to adulthood." James laughed. "None of us have it figured out and we are all just pretending."

"Coulda warned me sooner." Kat groaned and rolled the window down. The breeze felt good on her face, salt from the ocean and the leaves of the trees whispered sweet and mild scents as they continued home.

"Well, if nothing else, know this Kat; no matter what, I'm proud of you. You are gentle, and kind, but not a pushover like me. You helped out with finances and the house as soon as you could, and even if you didn't go to an ivy-league university like I did, you're still intelligent and diligent and you know how to teach yourself. I could never not be proud of the woman you've become."

"Thanks... Dad. Love you."

"I love you too, Bucket." James reached over and pat his daughter a few times on her shoulder. "But, now that we're talking about it, the boys I mean, it's going to be a lot harder on us if they all manage to come back." James glanced over again, only now his tone was serious.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that too, four adult men and Casper and I... that's going to be a lot of food. They'll need more than just pancakes and ice cream. I wonder how well Stretch would take to getting a job." Kat chuckled to herself at the thought.

"_Could_ he though?" asked James, "Could _any_ of them? They don't have social security or birth certificates. You can't get a job today without one or both of those. Casper would need to be enrolled in school as well."

"Well they aren't coming to the store." Kat folded her arms. "I know for certain that Mr. Merwick's payroll wouldn't cover all of us. Not to mention I would actually go insane if I had to work with them too. Maybe we can find something where they could get paid under the table."

"Maybe. It's an idea at least. I'll talk with them."

Kat laughed out loud when she heard that. "Good luck."

It wasn't much longer until the gravel road opened up to the view of a manor looming tall on an ancient cliff. The car pulled up closer to the front steps and the two soon stepped out and headed inside.

Not a moment later the Harvey's heard frustrated cursing, glass tinkling and clanging against glass and the smell of something burning came out of the kitchen in wisps. Kat and James exchanged a look and made their way toward the source of the commotion.

The sight they encountered though, Kat could not contain her laughter easily. Stretch was indeed a sight. Spots of flour dotted his ears and face, his arms covered almost to his elbow, the chip of an eggshell dangled from a strand of his hair.

"Whatcha... whatcha doing here?" Kat tried to say without choking on her own giggles through the smoke.

"Isn't it obvious?" Stretch pointed with his spatula, "I'm trying to make dinner."

"What is it?" James asked as he looked into the sizzling cast iron pan at a blackened and lumpy mess.

Stretch looked down into the pan and poked at a few lumps. "Uhh... there's some chicken and some other stuff I put in and—"

"How the hell did you manage to burn _salad_?" Kat lifted a plate covering another that revealed a charred pile of lettuce.

"I couldn't just let it get cold." Stretch said it as though this was part of the procedure.

Kat needed a second to gather composure, but she could feel her mouth achingly trying to betray a laugh. "Would you like some help?"

"Before I burn the house down you mean?" Stretch gave her a nudge as he reached behind himself to undo a knot in the apron he wore.

"Or give us food-poisoning." Kat nudged him back.

"Where is everyone else?" asked James, looking around.

"They left a little while ago to get started on the um, process. They might not be back for a few days."

"Oh, really? You didn't want to go with them?" James asked as he gathered up a few dirtied dishes and placed them into the sink.

"Nah," Stretch waved his hand, "I'd just drag them down. Besides, I can't fly anymore. Places they're going to, they'll need to be able to get in and out quickly."

"Uh-huh." James said, "And where is that?"

Stretch looked at Kat whose eyes told him to tread carefully. "Best you not know?"

The Doc didn't like that answer it seemed but he didn't press further. Kat felt a pang growing in the pit of her stomach. They wouldn't be able to keep everything a secret for long.

"Well," James clapped his hands once. "Guess I'll leave you two to it. Let me know when it's edible."

When he was gone from the kitchen, and the last of his footsteps up the stairs faded away, Kat released a tense exhale.

"What's wrong?" Stretch asked her.

"I'll just be glad once this is over." Kat turned the nozzle on the sink and began to wash her hands. Her thoughts turned to the ghosts. "Did they tell you where they went?"

"No," Stretch replied as he set his apron down. "I told them where to go. We got a solid plan, doll, you can relax."

"You said they'd be back in a few days?" Kat asked him, scraping the black and green _hot-salad_ into the waste-bin. "That seems pretty quick for the amount they need... You told them they have to be careful, right?"

"What do I look like, huh?" he asked her.

"Do you want me to answer that honestly?" she replied.

"You know what? Lemme just touch your face a minute." Stretch's dusted and wiggling digits moved in. "C'mere for a sec—"

"_Nonono_!" Kat squealed as she fought away his floury fingers. "Don't you dare!" She slapped each of his impish attempts away with quick and smirking precision. Her eyes were locked to his as their hands and wrists twirled around one another in battle. She caught one of his wrists and in the next second as she felt a swell of instinct that the match was won, he feigned a playful reach from the side and _booped_ her right on the nose. Defeated, and a sore loser, she _booped_ him back.

"Seriously Stretch," she said turned her attention to back to cleaning up the cooking area. "If the ghosts get caught, '_solid plans_' aren't going to matter."

"Hey, don't worry so much. I told you, leave the bloody business to me. I don't really see the harm in telling the Doc what's gotta be done though." Stretch reached out to rub her back. When he saw that he had left another rather large floury imprint, he quickly stuck his hands behind him.

"What if something goes wrong and we end up getting caught _stealing blood_?" said Kat in a hushed voice. "Not only that but... two days ago you were dead and now you are not. Have you met humanity? We'd go ape-shit over a discovery like that! I've known you long enough to know that you would hate having a sudden rush of people in _your_ house tearing _your_ stuff apart."

"You're right, I would absolutely hate that. We need to be careful, I get it. But the Doc doesn't have loose lips, you know. I think it would be okay, Kat. What's he gonna say, '_no_'? And if he does, what are we gonna do, '_stop_'?"

Kat sighed. It was too late to turn back.

Stretch looked around and then lowered his voice. "Did you remember to get the—"

"No dessert until _after_ dinner." Kat said firmly.

"Well then, I hope you have a _hearty_ appetite." Stretch whispered to her.

"I'm not eating whatever that is. And if I leave this to you, we'll starve." Kat turned to face him. "How did you get eggshells in your hair of all places?" She snickered as she picked out the chips.

"I'm not embarrassing myself anymore." Stretch said gruffly, ruffling his hair that shook out a fine white dust. "I tried to do something nice."

"It was nice," she touched his arm. "You just need practice. What were you trying to make?"

"Food." Stretch replied casually.

"Fried chicken?" Kat guessed.

"I think so. Thought some vegetables wouldn't be bad in it either. Casper makes it look so easy."

"Well, let's try this again," she said. "Here, crack the rest of the eggs in this bowl and add a splash or two of milk. I'll get the flour and seasonings and oil."

The two gathered the ingredients up. Stretch set to cracking his eggs, but asked Kat to add the milk since he wasn't sure how much a _splash_ was supposed to be.

"Your pan is too hot too," said Kat as she held her hand over it. "Turn that down a little."

"_Your_ pan is too hot." Stretch grabbed her bottom and gave it a squeeze.

"I thought you said you were done embarrassing yourself?" Kat hit his hand with the spatula.

"Shut up and kiss me already!" Stretch groaned.

"Seeing as I'm the cook now, _mmm_ no, you." Kat smirked and soon felt a soft press and tasted a warm flavor of flour from his tongue and smelled smoke and cracked pepper on him.

Dinner arrived smoothly enough, and plenty edible with only a few pieces of chicken arriving a bit more on the well-done side than others, consequence of a little distraction here and there.

When the Doctor came downstairs he looked at Kat and offered her a mildly disapproving look, though stern for him. Kat looked at herself and noticed she was covered in handprints, and some in worse places than others. Her father said nothing but Kat told herself she would need to be less careless as she patted the amorous evidence away.

After everyone ate their fill, Stretch volunteered to do dishes, and Kat was quick to offer help. Doctor Harvey grabbed his evening paper, said his good-nights, and with a cup of tea, he set to retire to his room.

"And for dessert, my lady?" Stretch mused, once the rest of the kitchen was tidy.

"You definitely need a shower first." Kat said, smirking.

"Care to join me?" Stretch offered his hand as he stood at the bottom stair.

"Maybe next time," Kat declined and whispered, "Dad's still awake."

"Oh. Alright then. I suppose I'll see you in a minute." Stretch gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and made his way up the stairs and down the hall to the bathroom. Kat turned around the corner and entered her room.

A few minutes later her door opened and Stretch appeared with his clothes in hand and a towel tied around his waist. Water beaded off his shoulders and a few drips still lingered in his darkened hair.

"I almost didn't want to get out. Showers are fantastic, and that water gets so hot I nearly scalded myself." Stretch threw his head back and shouted, "ah, it feels so good to do these things again!"

"_Shh_!" Kat hissed.

"What?" blinked Stretch.

"He might not be saying anything to us now," said Kat, "but let's not push our luck."

"Aren't you the one telling me that you're a grown woman and you can make your own mistakes?" Stretch replied as he crawled into her bed. His towel came loose but he paid it no mind.

"Yeah, but he's still my dad."

"And this is still my house." Stretch stated.

"You can have that conversation with him if you want." Kat took her long hair down and flung her scrunchie at Stretch's face.

"Nah, I'm only kidding." he swatted it away just before it hit his nose. "He'd kill me just as quickly as you would I'm sure. He told me he couldn't stop us from doing what we were going to do but he wouldn't stand by if I did anything to hurt you."

"Well, for my sake, next time, try not to be so damn adorable when you're covered in flour."

Stretch chuckled a little and moved in closer to kiss her softly.

When they broke a moment to catch their breath, and Kat found herself without clothes, she reached over into her bag hanging on a bedpost and pulled out a small, black box. She had taken to going to the gas station close by on her lunch. Their selection was rather disappointing, but she couldn't expect much and certainly not anything fancy. The old woman who rang her purchase up was nice enough, and gave her a great big toothy grin but Kat heard whispers and chatterings under the woman's breath as she left the convenience store. Kat had just smiled to herself as her head filled with thoughts of the evening.

She lifted the tab from the box, pulled out a square of foil and tore it open gently.

"So, how do I...?" Stretch began as he eyed the rubbery ring.

"Like this," Kat said softly and turned the slippery disk over, carefully fitting it onto his swollen tip. She rolled and smoothed it downward until he was clad. It seemed the size she had picked was a good fit and for that she was relieved. "There, it's not so bad, is it?"

"It's not..." Stretch sighed when her hand continued to glide up and down his shaft. "Terrible."

"Good." Kat purred. She inched herself onto his lap and lowered carefully. He found his way inside her easily. She gently pushed him downward into her pillows and he obeyed with a lusty little chuckle.

Her hips and nether adjusted themselves and even beyond his covering she could feel him twitching against her insides. His hands moved encouragingly to her rear and back. He whispered her name and hearing through the darkness surrounding them, it sent a flame through her senses. In this position, she could hope to control herself a little more. She was not so certain that would remain true if something as simple as him saying her name, while his flesh stirred inside of her... Rocking forwards and back again, her own hands searched for his chest and torso. It rose and fell with his heavy breathing, Kat thought she could hear his pulse for a moment. His brow contorted into helpless strain, and Kat twisted and turned her thighs. His eyes were lost behind their lids.

"_Kat..._" he whispered again.

"_Fuck..._!" she gasped trying to bite another back. "_I'm gonna...!_"

His own hips had developed a pleasurable rhythm that complimented hers, and he was begging her to release for him.

"Yes! _Ye—_" She whimpered into her knuckle, grinding herself onto his flesh. The edge soon found her with slick, rubbery new sounds emerging each time he entered her, his pelvis hitting her thighs with each of her descends in to sensational madness. "_Hn_!" His grinding teeth and short grunt let her know that their little addition for safety had not numbed him completely. She needed a second or two to collect herself.

"_Did you?_" she managed to ask him.

"_Not yet..._" Stretch's hands were traveling down her ribs and thighs, "_I don't want to stop yet._"

He sat up and his arms wrapped tightly around her and she felt her plush mattress coolly caress her skin. She let out a gasp as he pushed inward, prodding against her deepest spots, that spot, still tender from moments earlier. She let out a small cry when his lips, the edge of his teeth and then his entire mouth sent warm tingles on her neck. She was quietly thankful that he did not suckle very hard as the flour had already been awkward enough to dismiss. Kat shoved away the unwanted thoughts and urged her eager partner with legs curling around him. Her fingers trailed along his spine and she counted the vertebrae they brushed against. "_Don't stop..._" It amused her to no end, how many times had he called her a _Bonebag_? "_Don't ever...!_"

A second orgasm came to her quickly with his feverish pounding, and another. He turned her onto her side and held her inner thigh up, she took the edge of a pillow, soaked in the scent of him, into her mouth to dampen her pleasured gasps. Stretch nibbled her earlobe and the sound of his slick, covered flesh entering her and the feel of his pleasures exhaled onto her skin sent her over the edge once more. He cursed into her shoulder when he cupped one of her breasts. She felt his warmth starting to gather and his organ pulsated a few bursts, he slowed to a stop, caught his breath and pulled out.

They laid together, exhausted and limp as noodles for a moment until Kat moved to help him clean up.

"Tell me Kit-Kat," Stretch asked her once their tool had been disposed of, "now that you've had me both ways, which way do you prefer?"

"Without one," she answered quickly, "but it's the smart thing to do."

"I meant as a ghost, or alive."

"Oh, well... You haven't really changed much, apart from... a few obvious things, body-temperature comes to mind." Kat lifted back the sheet and snuggled close to him. "It's kind of late to think about it now, but which do you prefer?"

"Oh _this_," Stretch patted his chest, "this beats being dead by a mile. Although, I will miss flying... yeah, that... The one thing we ghosts have over you humans is being able to fly."

"We can fly." said Kat. "We just need an airplane or something. Gliders and wing-suits are a thing, too."

"It ain't the same thing, Kitten. To be able to move yourself from one point on the planet to another, _waay_ the hell out there without _anything_ being able to stop you and going a hundred miles an hour... In the sky, underwater, there's just nothing like it."

"I've had my own experience," Kat said dully. "Flying isn't the only thing. There's a lot of other stuff I could list that's better. For one, you guys get to just _exist_, presumably forever, until—"

"Kat the Ghost-Slayer comes along and mindtricks us into believing we're complete as people."

"That's right, Carrigan had no idea of my raw power." Kat tried her best at a quiet, yet maniacal laugh. She stopped, suddenly questioning something that had never before occurred to her. "Oh my god... Am I a murderer? Can you murder a ghost?"

"I think that makes it double-murder. At least murder-and-a-half."

"Oh, _noo_!" Kat spun over and buried her face and dismay into her pillow.

"Yeah," Stretch chuckled as he stroked her back a few times, "I'm pretty sure that makes you a terrible ghost-murderer."

"Good thing you're alive now." Kat turned herself around and gave her companion a sly smirk. A bunch of her hair had twisted itself across her forehead and eyes and she tried, and failed to blow it out of the way.

"Good thing you're so damn cute." Stretch said, planting a kiss right onto her lips. He brushed the deep brown clustered strands away from her face and looked at her for a moment.

"What?" Kat piped.

"I'm not allowed to look at you?" Stretch murmured.

"What are you looking at?" Kat asked him again.

"You." he said plainly.

"Weirdo." she returned, rolling her eyes.

"What does that make you then?"

"Another weirdo." This time she smiled and gave his arm a light squeeze.

Stretch gave her a tiny laugh before gently falling into another caress of her soft lips she had waiting for him. As they continued, heat began to rise once again. He made a move for her bag, reached inside and grabbed what was necessary, but Kat leaned up and gently stopped him.

"I do need to sleep at some point."

"Alright Kit-Kat." Stretch put the condom back in her bag. "You're not kicking me out of your room are you?"

"No, of course not. I... I like sleeping next to you."

"You're nice to lay with too, Kat." He settled himself down and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back into him. "Hey... Kat?"

"Yeah, Stretch?"

"How come you never had a boyfriend?"

"I did too have a boyfriend, sort of."

"We never saw him." said Stretch.

"That's because it was none of your business." affirmed Kat.

"Bad breakup?"

"Maybe you'll never know." Kat closed her eyes.

"Oh c'mon," Stretch whined again. "You say that like you don't trust me or something."

Kat didn't have anything to say to that.

"You _don't_ trust me?"

"That's not it." Kat replied.

"That's what it sounds like." Stretch grumbled.

"Well it isn't," she tried to reason. "It's a little more complicated than that."

"But you don't trust me." He was obviously irritated.

"I trust that you can piss me off, for sure." She was beginning to feel just as agitated.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Yes, it was a bad breakup, but that's all I want to say, okay? Some things are mine to keep."

"More than one?" asked Stretch.

"Ugh!" Kat growled at him. "Why are you interrogating me?"

"I just want to know more about you, that's all." Stretch leaned over to look at her. "Is that so wrong of me?"

"You know more than others, if that makes you feel better." Kat said tiredly.

"A little." Stretch mumbled.

"Okay, your turn." Kat said to him.

"Huh?"

"This trust thing only works when both parties share information." Kat tapped him a few times on his chest.

"What do you want to know?" offered Stretch.

"Have you ever been married?" The question just barreled out of her before she had time to regret the thought.

"No. Came close though," he said. "Back in those days you had to get married if you were expecting."

It shouldn't have surprised Kat that Stretch would have been in a few relationships of his own, but to have gone as far as expecting a child... Her heart fluttered in waves, and a cool wash crawled in her skin. Still, oddly she was happy.

"What happened?"

"I died." Stretch heaved, sounding even more annoyed.

"Oh," said Kat. She gathered a little courage for her next question. "Did you ever go back to see her?"

"Yes." Stretch said, looking up at the ceiling. "I never met my son. It was afterward, when I remembered... it must have been ten years... and then one day, outta nowhere it hit me, I couldn't believe I had forgotten something like that. I fly back as fast as I can and..." His words seemed to stick in his mouth. "I see her, and she's talking with her mother and the two housemaids and I say, '_hi honey!_' I guess I forgot what I was, they all screamed so I chased after her. She didn't recognize me or was too afraid to know... and at this point, I'm getting angry, so I want to know what's happened, where's the baby, and all she can say is she's sorry... how _so dreadfully sorry._.. and that she _had_ to do it, and he'll have a better life and that it _wouldn't do_ for a woman of her station to have a child alone. You don't want to know what happened next."

"Now I do." Kat meekly responded.

"Well, I never hurt _her_... but I certainly broke a few things. I never found out where she sent him. I don't even know his name."

It was quiet when he finished. The silence crept over and blanketed them for what felt like an eternity.

"Three." Kat said finally.

"What?"

"Three people," she said. "You're the third."

"_Oh_."

"Senior year, Vic and I got kinda close. He and Amber were always off and on, so he'd hang out with me a lot when they were off. I knew what it really was too, but I liked him, so it didn't matter." Kat bit her lip, but continued, "until one day we decided to... yeah... and it was super awkward. His mom came home early and I ended up having to sneak out of his house. Then like, the next day he's with Amber again. So... yeah. I knew what it was and it still sucked."

"Didn't they get married?" asked Stretch.

"They're divorced now." Kat said. "Amber moved to upstate New York."

"Who would have seen that coming?"

"To be honest, I hoped it wouldn't last." Kat looked down at her toes poking through the sheets.

"Can't say I blame you." Stretch said and rubbed her bare arm up and down. The two sighed heavily, Stretch tightened his grasp around her and took a long draw of the scent of her hair. Kat began to giggle, a little at first, then she snorted and was gone from there.

"What's so funny?" Stretch asked her.

"I'm just... trying to imagine pillow-talk from way back in the day, and trying to put your voice to it and it's—" Kat giggle-snorted.

"We wore so many clothes too." Stretch began to snicker. "It took days to get her out of that petticoat and skirt."

"Did your underwear have those buttoned-up butt-flaps?"

"It made it easier to shit in the winter."

"Oh my god." Kat snorted again.

"Want to know what we used for toilet paper sometimes?"

"_No_!" Kat cried. "Stop!"

After sharing a few more giggles and Kat shushed them once more, they curled into one another and soon fell asleep.

###    
  



	7. Chapter 7

The day was well into its way as clouds sleepily sailed in clusters of the sky.

"Alright boys, let's go spot us out some new suits." Stinkie said wickedly while wringing his hands.

"Let's get one we can all share. I did beat you two rounds in a row, Uncle Stinkie."

"And then you lost." Stinkie replied as he thumbed across his round nose.

"You'll get to drive a little on the way back, how does that sound?" Fatso said, patting the little ghost on the back.

"That's fine, I guess," Casper sighed defeatedly. "I think I know where we should look first."

"Where?" Stinkie asked.

"A gas station!" Casper beamed brightly. "That way we'll know for sure that the car will be able to go far enough."

"Not bad, not bad." his Uncle Stinkie nodded.

"Ooh, and we can get some snacks!" the big ghost clapped.

They had a start to their adventure set. Now, they only needed to find their unwilling host. A few discussions were had along the way to the station about what kind of car they would all prefer driving. It was clear the color should be a most important thing to consider.

The Ghostly Trio, now without their leader and instead having gained an honorary addition, spotted a prime candidate while peering invisibly through a rush of bushes nearby. The man they saw was by himself, a man of average height and his age appeared as though he was nearing the end of his prime. The man's square face squinted at his cellphone while the dispenser refueling his car climbed higher in number.

"Think that one'll work?" Stinkie asked his cohorts.

"No complaints from me." said Casper, trying to sound brave.

"Might be snug, but I've squeezed it into slimmer gowns before." Fatso added.

It was decided over another quick round of roshambo who would approach first. It was Stinkie's luck again. Casper may have thrown out _rock_ instead of a winning pair of _scissors_ in the last play on purpose, if only because of nerves. The dispenser clicked, and the man retrieved the nozzle and replaced it onto his hook. The ghosts needed to move now before he was on the road.

Stinkie _whoooshed_ over to the man. One who might notice such a trick of the light may have been able to spot the flash of sunbeam that bent around his invisible form, but no one around was interested in anything other than their own affairs.

The man with the square face squinted at his phone once more before putting it into his jacket pocket. Then suddenly, he shook as though a wave of nausea, or a vehement case of the _heebee-geebees_ had overtaken him. After thrashing his head violently for a short time and ushering a wrenching noise or two, the man then suddenly regained himself. He straightened out his collar, turned directly to the shrubs and gave them a thumbs-up. The bushes rustled and the man returned to his car without so much as a sideways glance from anyone around.

"You good, Stink?" Fatso asked.

"Think so," the man replied. "Say, this is a nice ride he's got here. Look at all these fancy... _oh_! What is that, one of them seat-warmers? Now if only I could feel my ass we'd be in business."

'_Call from... Smooches..._'

"What's that noise?" the man asked, looking around himself.

"Where is it coming from?" Fatso looked under the seats and phased into the trunk and back out again.

'_Call from... Smooches..._'

"It's the phone!" Casper pointed to the faint light and buzzing from inside the man's jacket.

"Maybe it'll stop soon." Stinkie hoped.

'_Call from... Smooches..._'

Stinkie grabbed the cellphone with the man's hands and fumbled with it as it chirped and vibrated in a synthetic and garbled cacophony.

"Why is it so damn hard to turn off these things?!" He was poking at the noisy rectangle with two of the man's stubby fingers so hard and so rapidly it caught on the edge of the man's leg and leapfrogged high into the air.

The ringing stopped when the phone landed into the cup holder.

"_Hello_?" a voice called from the edge of the phone, "_Hello? Arthur, are you there?!_"

"Uh h-hello... uh, _Smooches_? Is this _Smooches_?" Stinkie held the phone up delicately with the man's thumb and forefinger.

"_Yes this is your wife!_" The tiny speakers shouted. "_Where the hell are you?!_"

"Uh... I'm just uh, running out to grab milk honey— err _Smooches_, I'll be back soon?" Stinkie frantically fumbled for words with the man-who-was-named Arthur's voice. Fatso had his mouth clamped tight as he struggled to keep himself from exploding with hysteria while Casper's eyes had grown wide with a mixture of terror and interest at the scene unfolding.

"_You've been gone all afternoon! Why does it take you four hours to get one thing?! You better not be hanging around that slut you bumped into at the Christmas party! If I catch you, Arthur I swear to god I'll—_"

Stinkie chucked the phone out of the open window. It caught on a pebble and flipped three times in the air before a minivan sent shards of it flying over the other side of the road.

"That's a poor way to treat your wife, Arthur." Fatso chuckled.

"It slipped outta my hand. Ah, the radio though! _Err_..." Stinkie seemed lost to befuddlement as the man's eyes searched over the funny-looking television set in the dashboard.

The radio, like nearly everything modern in the car was touch-controlled. The little ghost in the passenger seat tried messing with some of the features, but no matter how hard he concentrated, his hands would only phase through the glass. And if he could rest a finger on the screen, it did not seem to know he was there. Casper had the same difficulty with Kat's phone as well, but she had found an adapter with tiny physical controls that fit perfectly to it so he could play some of the racing or adventure games she had. The car the ghosts had found was certainly fancy, but it did not look to have a trinket as considerate as that stored anywhere.

"No worries," Stinkie said, "we know plenty of songs don't we boys?"

"Please, no." Casper groaned into his palm.

"Hey, this is gonna be a long-ass trip if I don't get to sing. Arthur here sounds like he's got a nice setta pipes. Consider yourself lucky that you're even coming with us."

"This was my idea!" Casper said defensively to his uncles.

"It was his idea." Fatso replied to his brother.

"Yeah, Uncle Arthur. Do you even know where we're going?"

"Of course I do!" fired the man. "Stretch said to look inside a hospital, so that's where we'll go."

"We need to get a cooler too," Casper reminded him. "A big one. And we should get that first."

"Who would have coolers?" Stinkie asked.

"The Tackle shop?" Casper offered.

"No, those are too small." Fatso pointed out as he was deep in thought. "I don't remember them having very many either."

"What about that new superstore that opened a while back?" suggested Stinkie.

"It's worth a look, and it's always open." Casper said.

"How far away are we?" asked Fatso.

"I'm not sure," Stinkie squinted through the windshield. "One o' you could go on ahead and tell me how to get there."

"We might not have to." Fatso pointed to the screen in the dashboard. "Look, this car's got one of those _jeeps_ things."

"This here says it's a _Nissan_." Stinkie ran the man's finger underneath the word on the display.

"I think he meant _GPS_." The little ghost tapped at a symbol that looked like a folded map. "Press that button, Uncle Stinkie."

"Uhh..." Stinkie said to the man's dashboard, "take us to the new superstore please?"

"We'll have to type it in. See the keyboard?" Casper pointed to the series of letters and numbers lined in rows on the screen. His uncle in the man-suit gingerly pressed a few key icons, as if he feared the machine would catch fire. After many a butterfingered attempt, Stinkie was able to finagle the word _Super_ into the search engine. A close result _pinged_, and awaited to be confirmed.

Stinkie twisted the man's key resting in the ignition and the car started, he pressed an upward-arrow icon on the screen.

"_Turn right... then... make a left onto Maple Road._"

"It's this easy?" Stinkie said, still a little bewildered.

"Seems to be. But we haven't gone anywhere yet, bud." Fatso called from the back seat.

"Gimme a second, I'm still getting used to my sea-legs. I'm also..." the man turned the wheel this way and that, "trying to figure out how to drive this..."

Casper spun around in his seat. "Wait, you don't—?"

"I got an idea of sorts." Stinkie assured his nephew. "I've seen the Doc drive his a time or two."

A second went by and the man's foot held the brake peddle down, his hand grabbed the stick on the side of the wheel and the knob moved upward in a few clicks until a green piece of color marked itself next to a letter D. Stinkie held the man's foot in place and breathed a sigh of relief to his comrades.

He straightened out the wheel, eyed the way to exit the station and said, "Let's go!"

"Seatbelt." Casper held his arm across the man and gave him a stern expression.

"_Really_?" The man's face was not amused.

"Yes, really. What good is Arthur going to do for us if he's mangled in a wreck?"

"Is that you doubting my abilities I hear?" Stinkie said as he fastened the belt around the man's waist, fidgeting with the locking mechanism, if only for a moment. It finally _clicked_ and he bounced a little in the man's seat, ensuring his sea-legs would obey him.

The man's foot lifted off the brake pedal and slowly, but steadily and to everyone's amazement, the car inched forward. When they reached the exit, Stinkie stuck his borrowed head out of the window and checked to see if the way was clear. After a few cars passed, and someone impatiently waiting behind them honked their horn, the car jolted ahead and screeched onto the road, leaving a quadrant of short black marks in their stead. Casper and Fatso yelped in surprise, but Stinkie only furrowed the man's brow and tried to correct his maneuver before they collided with the bumper in front of them. Some other drivers around seemed to gather that this vehicle was in some... _difficulty_, and the one in front made a quick turn to get away from the risk of a... _slight_ collision. Good, Stinkie preferred a clear view to see, anyway.

Their first turn would eventually take them to a stoplight. Easy enough to remember that red meant stop and green meant go, but the man's shoe was not as used to the foot inside as it had been so accustomed to and the car jerked and pulled a few times until it's bumper edged to a stop over the white line. The ghosts and man gazed at the red glowing bulb, and it seemed to stay that way forever and a day.

And then, forever and a day passed.

Their second start was much smoother, though the left turn Stinkie had taken seemed to be at too sharp of an angle and he wobbled back and forth with the man's body until the car was level. Fortunately, the rest of their path was predicted by the navigation as a gently curving way on a long road that ran along cliff-side and then straight on the other edge of town. Stinkie enjoyed watching the speedometer and matching the number with the signs he saw on the side of the road, but once or twice he gave the pedal a bit of a nudge.

'_Continue straight for one-point-four miles, and then...you'll arrive._'

It was the large round ghost who suggested they park a little away from other cars, since his brother's stops had not quite been so graceful. Stinkie obliged with a grumble, and even proudly sneered when he was able to align the car nearly perfectly into a barren spot.

"Well... now that we're here I guess there is one more problem." Casper said before he and his uncles made their way into the store.

"What now?" the man heaved.

"We don't have any money to pay for the coolers." said Casper reluctantly.

"_We_ don't." Stinkie patted the man's rear where a wallet was stored inside his pocket. "But maybe Arthur here does."

"I dunno... that doesn't seem—"

"Look Shortsheet, it's really late in the game for you to be growing a conscience on us," Stinkie snapped, clearly inflated due to his recent promotion in the hierarchy. "So either you'll help us out with this idea of yours, and that means bending a rule or two, or you can turn back and head home."

"What's a finer thing than to help a ghost find a life again, hm?" Fatso tried to reason, a easier going than his disgruntled brother. "We aren't gonna take much, we're just after the coolers right? Maybe some snacks too."

"Well..." Casper did not want to mention his increasing reservations about the blood, it would have only invited trouble from his uncle brewing in the man-suit. He was glad that he had come along, his adventures had grown rather lonesome of late. A tiny twinge still pestered him, he knew what had to be done, but happier thoughts flickered warmly of being able to ride a bike or going swimming by the pier, even sledding again! He supposed it... _was_ a nice thing to help a ghost be whole again. His father had tried before, hadn't he?

"There, you see?" agreed the man, Arthur when no more protest was said. "It's all settled." And with his new sea-legs, he strode over to the entrance of the store.

The superstore had been a good choice, they had found. The coolers were not far and there were so many in stock! They selected a large dark green one that had latches and a handle. Casper invisibly found a lone, empty cart and brought it over and Fatso quietly assisted with the heavy lifting. Too excited to linger between aisles for long, they headed for the checkout. Once purchased by Arthur after waiting in line for a minute or two, and grabbing a nice ensemble of road snacks, they found their cooler was so cavernous that even Fatso could have slept comfortably in it. They stored it in the backseat when they were safely outside. Fatso remarked that instead using ice, he would only need to sit on their eventual haul to keep it fresh.

"Stretch has twenty bags saved for us he said." Stinkie chimed inside the car as he recalled his brother's advice.

"How many more do we need?" asked Fatso, whose form was split evenly in half as he settled in with their cooler.

"One-hundred and twenty-four." Casper answered. The number nearly made him shiver, but he would not let his uncles see it.

"O-one... _hundred_?" Stinkie stuttered with the man's shocked expression.

"And twenty-four." Casper finished for him.

"We'd best get to work then." Fatso clapped again.

The ghosts and the man turned their attention to the navigation screen and once he was buckled, and with an insightful observation from his nephew, Stinkie pressed an encircled letter H. Numerous results popped up and dotted themselves across the overview of the map with teeny blue tacks. There was only one hospital in the tiny town of Friendship and on the smaller side than one would find in a more populated area. A few specialists working out of their old brown brick homes could also be found in between the shops that nestled in the twisty and turning roads snaking through the district.

Their first stop would take them to the opposite side of town in which they were conspiring. And if by luck they managed to gather a decent score, they could hope to take the highway and make it to two others that sat close together on the edge of the next town over. The sun was beginning to set, and it was agreed that Arthur could use a night out, and so the ghosts also agreed that they should continue on until they had the... unnerving number of bags they needed.

It would not take Stinkie much longer get used to way of the road, the helpful voice calling from the dashboard and keeping their track straight seemed to add a calming air that was much needed in Arthur's car.

'_In nine-hundred feet..._' the light voice spoke again when they approached closer to their first prospect, '_you will arrive at your destination..._'

The car rested to a halt at the farthest edge of the lot. A long concrete pathway wrapped around the building, sprouted with ambitious dandelions in between its seams.

Stinkie looked around to see if the coast was clear. It appeared to be, they could not hear or see any movement of humans outside, only the sound of cars driving by in the distance. "Okay, I'll—"

"Stay right here." Fatso cut him off.

"What? Why?"

"Because someone has to make sure Arthur doesn't run away with our ride." Fatso said as he patted the roof of the car.

"He can't run if I don't make him." Stinkie said simply.

"You'll get us caught." said Casper as if he had been told the same thing before by one of them.

Stinkie folded the man's arms in offense, "I would never be so inconsiderate."

"So it's settled then, you'll stay put. Try and figure out how to work the radio while we're gone."

Stinkie didn't have anything too foul to say to that, and grumbling through the man's gritted teeth he set his attention to working the different colored icons.

The two ghosts out in the open blended themselves into the scenery and made their way into the hospital from the side wall.

The open sounds of the outside quickly became a tight and cramped collection of small voices making small talks, _beeps_ and _chirps_ from strange machines and squeaking shoes scuffling on a wide and shiny floor. The place might have looked dated on the outside, inside was a busy and noisy place where modest advancement had moved ahead to spite the bricks, and it was crawling with fleshies.

Fatso poked his nephew's shoulder and silently motioned that he would go above and made a gesture that suggested to Casper he should look for their prize below. The two went their separate ways.

Casper dove into the floor, through short layers of piping and concrete, until the space gave way to a open hall, much like the one above but only a few light fixtures and even fewer doors lined the area.

Something told him he was close, but the plaque on a tall gray door gave him pause. Behind that door, he could sense the weight of dozens of corpses. When the thought of so many nonmoving dead gathered in one place made him shudder, he chose to quickly move on. A graveyard was one place, a place to rest, hospitals seemed to offer him only restless intentions.

The end of the hall was approaching as Casper peeked into each room... except for _that_ one. All of the doors, as his Uncle Stretch had said, had little black boxes on their frames aside the handles, each illuminated by a bar of red light. He must remember to find a key for any they would need to pass when the time to possess a nearby human came. But being in this place, his thoughts crept into harsh images of crying infants, the very sick and the injured. He tried then thinking of better things, like each one he imagined a face for being walked or wheeled out of this place with a smile, though the buzzing behind his mind was making it harder for him to want to stay very much longer.

When he was just about to give up and regroup with his Uncle Fatso, he melted into a bright and clean room with long desk spaces littered with tubes and vials and beakers all locked away behind glass cases. The room was empty of the living.

Then, he saw the shiny metal of something that was suspiciously like a large refrigerator. He poked his head inside and felt a surge of joy when he saw piles and piles of bags of blood, neatly sorted on icicle shelves. He scanned the rows for any mark that would tell him which were O-Positive. _Aha_! The shelf brimmed with three stacks of ten. This was coming together well for the ghosts so far, and better still, they might even succeed!

On his exit, Casper heard the chime of an elevator door opening and deep voices conversing in strange terms caught his attention, and he felt his heart soar upon seeing their way up. It was a large elevator too, big enough to cram a gaggle of fleshies if need be. A stretcher would be no issue for them.

Fueled by the excitement of their prize, he _zipped_ unseen through the ceiling until he was on the entrance floor. He made a note of the surrounding area, spotting a painting on a wall, just behind him, of a lovely flower field that he could use as a guide to help them find the stash again.

Now he just had to find his uncle. And then... they were tasked with getting the blood out of the doors.

The little ghost flittered swiftly around the foot traffic that kept the hallways alive, casting a glance here and there for any sign of his portly uncle. He turned a corner and found a less traveled corridor. Suddenly he felt his shoulder yank back as the big ghost pulled him into a utility closet.

"Any luck?" Fatso asked him.

"Yes!" Casper reported, "I found it! It isn't far, but I'm certain we need a key to get it on the elevator."

"There's no avoiding it?"

"I don't think so."

"We will have to come out of the other side we came in, where they bring the trucks. From what I could see, the front doors won't allow for a stretcher to go through without us making a scene. Get us a key, and I'll walk it to the top and out the sideway."

"Okay, wait here." Casper turned to move on but felt his uncle stop him.

"Hold it a second, I just thoughtta something."

"What's that?" the little ghost asked.

"Stretch was by himself when he did all this. There's two of us. Whose to say that me or you can't open the door while the other has the goods?"

"We could be spotted by someone who might see that we didn't use a key." Casper said as he considered the option. His uncle Stretch had told them they must try not to get stopped, and he could understand why. "We should make it look like it's okay to do this." He continued, "I don't think we should possess anyone in the open on this floor either, there's too much going on around us."

"Did you see anyone downstairs?" his uncle asked.

"I saw two people get off the elevator." said Casper.

"Do you think they could still be there?"

"I don't know," the little ghost said diminished, "they might be. Do we take them?"

"No," Fatso frowned. "I don't want to gamble on just 'might-be'. And we still have make sure of way to carry it out like we planned."

"I've got an idea." Casper sighed.

"Whatssat?"

"I'll wait for a someone with a key to go into the bathroom. If they start to get sick, they'll have a good excuse for being there already."

"This is really starting to become some dirty work, but it's a good plan."

"Look for a painting with lots of flowers on it, the blood is right below that. I'll meet you in the room after I find a stretcher." Casper nodded when his uncle had nothing else to offer and slipped through the door.

He looked around at all the humans who wore the long white coats. He noticed they each had something clipped somewhere on their clothes, like a different sort of driver's license than the ones the Harvey's had. He watched someone touch it to the black box and the light changed from red to green. Those were the keycards!

The little ghost looked around to gather his paths, when he turned his head up, he saw a sign that read Restrooms with an arrow pointing to its direction and he followed it.

Invisibly, he perched himself on the edge of a fluffy bench and waited. And waited. People bustled out of the bathrooms in groups, it seemed to him. He was close to dozing off when he spotted a young doctor carrying a notebook lazily saunter his way in. Casper floated behind the man and quickly covered his face to avert his eyes from any potential unsightliness. He peeped through cracks in his fingers, two had made their exit, but that left the young doctor and one more in the stalls. The sound of pages turning alerted him to which door to go behind.

The little ghost gulped, shook out whatever queasiness that aimed to claim him, held his nose and dove straight into the beige, metal door.

His eyes were shut tight and he felt... backwards and bunched up. He tried turning himself around... that seemed to help, but his foot didn't quite seem to reach all the way to the end.

"You okay in there, man?"

He tried stretching his arms and tail as much as he could, and slowly he sensed a pressure around him that reminded him of an itchy glove. It was too itchy, and a kind that he couldn't scratch. This was not his glove and he did not belong here.

Casper opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, he tried lifting them, and was so happy and yet terrified that he couldn't recognize them.

"Buddy?"

Casper realized the man in the stall over was talking to him. He cleared the doctor's throat and tried to assure the curious neighbor it was nothing and that he was fine.

He waited until he was certain the other man had left before taking his first steps. When he was finally brave enough to venture outside the bathroom, he saw a lonesome stretcher parked beside red telephone. He moved his body towards it, the hands took the handlebar as if he was supposed to do this, he pushed the stretcher to the way of the elevator.

Once he got close, Casper hurriedly pressed the downward button, hoping with every inch of himself that no one else would need to ride with him. When the doors opened, he went inside and his eyes searched for a way down. He spotted a button with a letter B. He pressed it, the doors quickly closed and an arrow above illuminated the elevators travel to the floor below. Casper patted the key clipped to the doctor's pocket for safety.

The elevator hummed but not a moment later, it opened, and by his right was the door to the next step in their heist.

Casper pulled on the plastic key and it's string un-whirled around a loop to give him way. He touched it to the black lock, the bar turned green. Taking a breath for himself and his host, he turned the handle and opened the door.

His uncle was waiting inside, marveling over the medical devices and shining glass vials. "Great work, Glow-worm," he offered proudly when the young doctor did not scream, "Now let's get this outta here."

Together they piled the stacks of blood into the stretcher, carefully arranging them in the shape of a body. When Fatso went to grab the last stack of ten, Casper asked him that he leave it for the living. Fatso objected at first, but his nephew's insisting soon swayed him. Their work left a lot to be desired of a corpse, and a thin corpse at that. Fatso looked under a sink in the room and found a huge roll of paper towels that served to fluff up their bloody-buddy a little. They covered it with the sheet it came with and tucked the sides and corners in tightly. It would not do for them to drop a bag on the way out.

His uncle made himself unseen, Casper turned the handle and the stretcher rolled out of the doorway. They approached the elevator, the young doctor touched his key to the lock once more, the doors opened. They were so close to the end now.

When they arrived on the first floor, Casper felt his uncle tug on the doctor's shoulder and he was given motion to follow.

They traveled down a long hall. Casper made an effort not to look anyone passing directly in the eye, only at the sight of the next corner they would take. The busy noises of the inside were starting to thin out as the great entrance ways for the ambulances grew closer. He felt a cold gust of wind blow past and he knew then that his uncle had flown off to fetch their getaway. For an instant, and perhaps because he was alone, he felt frightened. He tightened his grip on the handlebar and pushed onward with all the confidence he could summon. He noticed a large silver button on the edge of the double-doorway as he grew closer and judging by the symbol on it, he understood that the door would open for him. He nudged it with the doctor's elbow. Almost there!

An ambulance was quietly parked outside, and Casper saw that it was night. His bottled sigh of relief came when he could not find any lingering humans.

He heard the slightly familiar sound of an engine he was traveling with rumbling faintly, his Uncle Stinkie had pulled around and was waving out of the window. Casper felt the doctor's legs and metal wheels sprint toward the car. Fatso swiftly opened the door and together they shoveled the blood inside as fast as they could. Stinkie was yelling at them to hurry up as someone walking outside had started making curious look in their direction. Casper realized with a start he was still with the young doctor. His heart could have leapt into his throat, instead he turned and moved back to the entrance.

"Is everything alright over there?" A nurse asked as Casper grew closer.

"Y-yes, yes, everything is fine. No need to worry." He took a few more steps, "Excuse me, nurse, I'm not feeling so well." Casper rolled the young doctors eyes back into his head and shifted out of his host invisibly. The sound of a body going limp and colliding with linoleum quickly followed by a shriek and a call for help was left behind the little ghost as he sped back to his uncles.

The cooler was packed, and without making too much of a screech, Stinkie peeled out of the hospital parking lot.

"We got it?" Stinkie asked them as he drove on.

"We got it." said the two ghosts at once.

"Oh, that's great!" The man Arthur's eyes lit up. "How many didja get?"

"Twenty."

"_Only twenty?!_" Stinkie yelled at them as he maneuvered his way into the highway ramp. When he turned to give them his expression of dismay the car drifted to the side. Fatso told him to watch the road and the car swiveled back into its lane. They merged into the next lane and the blimp on the dashboard chased the blue line that extended ahead of it hungrily.

"This is gonna take us forever!" Stinkie cried out, slinking back into his seat.

"There wasn't that much here." Casper tried to reason. "We knew we'd have to stop at a few."

"Next round should be much smoother." Fatso popped his head in between the two in front. "As long as we can do again what we did today, we'll have what we need in no time."

Stinkie groaned, not entirely convinced, and tapped the icon of a music note and soon the car filled with bristling melody. "At least we'll be entertained along the way."

###    
  



	8. Chapter 8

Breakfast was a somewhat quiet one that morning, especially with half of the household gone. The remaining three munched their oatmeal and sipped coffee. James read his paper while Kat's toes silently fought underneath the table with those of her companion sitting across from her, nudging and flicking them to try pulling a reaction from Stretch. The two seemed to be fiercely tied as neither's expression betrayed any visible weakness.

When they all were finished eating and the dishes were cleaned, James took his leave for the day. Kat would follow soon after him for her own shift, but not before giving Stretch a few farewell pecks and a quick smack of his rear. Giggling, she had to quickly skitter away before he could return his own pap on her bottom.

Hours went by and by, the orange of the early evening sky was beginning to claim the faded blues of daylight. Kat returned to the manor from Merwick's Pawn.

"Hey Kitty-Kat," Stretch said warmly as she entered the kitchen. "You're home."

"Hey," she greeted him back. "Want to go on a walk with me?"

"Where to?" asked Stretch.

"I think it's time you picked out some of your own clothes." Kat said, eyeing the only worn shirt and wrinkled pants he continued to wear. He had done a nice job of keeping them clean at least.

"They're mine now," Stretch protested and clutched his shirt at the heart. "The Doc gave them to me."

"You can keep them," Kat assured him, "but, don't you want something that fits a little better? You need more than one set, you know. We could... I dunno, get something to eat while we're out, too."

"Why Kat," Stretch's smile grew bright, "am I wrong, or, are you asking me out on a date?"

"Hm." Kat's expression became puzzled as she looked to be in thought. "Could be. I think so. It kinda sounded like it."

"It did, didn't it? And you know something? I'd love to."

Kat's face lit up a little, "Great! Um—Hold on, let me see if he still has those..."

Kat returned a moment later after digging through a plastic bin stored in a hall closet where the Harvey's old shoes were kept. She had pulled out an old but still stiff pair of foam sandals, no doubt they'd be a little small for her very tall companion, but it was better than nothing.

"Try these on." she said, letting the sandals land with a rough plop at Stretch's feet.

"This is... weird..." Stretch grimaced as he wiggled his foot into the shoe. "I don't like this."

"Surely you've worn sandals before." Kat gave him goading smile.

"It's between my toes and it feels weird,” he protested still, “I don't like it."

"You'll get used to it once you start walking around in them." Kat offered.

"Look at this," Stretch continued, "my heel's hanging over it." He tried tilting his foot up and knocking the tip of the sandal into position, but it only caused his toes to curl along with his nose.

"Well it's this, or come with me barefoot." said Kat. "And I don't think you want to brave the gravel, do you?"

"Ah, the joys of being alive again. I'm gonna have to walk on my tip-toes in these I guess."

"Oh noo, you'll be a little taller." Kat poked him in his side and he jokingly winced. "Ready?"

"Yep." He held his arm out for her to take. She did, and the two made their way out the front, down the driveway and through the gate.

"It's gonna be a nice night." Kat remarked as they walked alongside the edge of the road. One the perks of living in a small town was the lack of traffic on the roads.

"Yeah, it is." agreed Stretch. He took a huge inhale and sighed it out pleasantly. "Oh!" He grabbed her hand with a start. "I got the hiccups for the first time today!"

"Oh yeah?" Kat asked him. "How'd that go?"

"At first they were fun, you know, little surprises, I can work with that. But then the better part of an hour goes by and the fuckers wouldn't stop and I started to get annoyed."

"How did you get rid of them?"

"I tried a few things. I tried slamming a door to see if that would scare me, and it didn't... I tried drinking some water and mid-swallow, A _hic_' went and '_upped_ and I thought I was going to choke! They finally quit once I stopped coughing. I can't wait to get them again."

"Sorry, what?" Kat said, laughing. "You can't wait to choke on your own air again?"

"I was fine! I survived! Annoying though they were, my little bubbly-bout was kind of enjoyable. I never thought I'd miss the little stuff like that. Or miss doing things like pissing and shitting either."

"I don't... really need to know all that."

"If you think _I'm_ bad," he went on, "wait 'til Stinkie comes around. He'll damn near expect you to pay homage to his dumps."

"So what color do you want to paint the second bathroom we'll have to install?" Kat chimed.

"Why do you need another bathroom for? You got the ocean out in your back yard. Just do your business there." Stretch argued.

"Haha!" Kat laughed facetiously. "You first."

The two trailed along the roadside, trading chit-chat. Kat was enjoying their time as much as he seemed to be. A mile into their venture, the closeness of the trees began to spread out, allowing the scents of the sea to whisk through their gaps. Street-lamps were lighting up as they reached the groggy shops.

"Let's see if we can find something in here." Kat told Stretch when they approached an apparel store.

"Hm..." Kat hummed, thinking as she held a plain-looking polo up to his chest.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Stretch asked in playful irritation.

"Sure you do." Kat answered and gestured to the abundance of choices he had. "Pick something."

Stretch looked around a little and lifted up a few tees, pulling one out with funny characters on the front. He seemed to be more interested in the feel of the silk-screened ink than the aesthetic it offered. He set the tee back down in an unfolded lump and began to look elsewhere, drawn to a rack of button-up shirts colored in a deep plum-and-gray plaid. "What about this?"

"See if it fits?" Kat smiled.

Stretch took it off the hanger and Kat pointed him to a dressing room.

"You look very nice." she said to him once he emerged.

"Shucks. I do don't I?" Stretch said over his shoulder as he examined himself. "What about you?"

"What about me?" asked Kat.

"Don't you want something for yourself?"

"Nah," she said. "I'm not here for me. There's not much in this section for me anyway."

"I think we passed all the solid-colored baggy stuff back that-a way." Stretch offered with a smirk.

"Just what are you trying to say exactly?"

"Nothin' that won't get me in trouble."

"I like my breathable and comfortable, loose-fitting clothes, thank you very much." She stepped closer on sure foot, rose to the tips of her toes and leaned in to whisper, "_besides, doesn't it excite you any to think about what's underneath them?_"

"_Hehe, you aren't usually in anything when I think about you._" Stretch replied and tickled her side. Kat let out a surprised yelp that she turned into a growl and poked him back for giving her a start.

Stretch decided that he was going to get the button-up. He found a sleek pair of denim jeans to compliment his new shirt. When he tried them on to show her, Kat gave his rear a familiar whistle of approval. She took him over to the socks and undergarments shortly after and he selected a few of each. Next, they came to an array of men's shoes and Stretch quickly yanked up a dark and sturdy pair of mesh and rubber running shoes.

"How do they feel?"

"They feel great! Nothing's jammed between my toes neither. Yeah," Stretch bounced up and down a few times. "These will do me just fine."

"C'mon," Kat said, pulling him along, "let's go pay for all this."

They took the items to the register and the sleepy-looking teller scanned and clipped away tags in a lazy pace.

"Your total comes to _seventy-three, thirty._" The teller said to them.

"That seems like a lot." Stretch said, uneasy.

"Yeah, inflation's a bitch." Kat scoffed while she dug through her bag for her debit card. She handed it to the teller for them to swipe. "Don't worry about it," Kat said to her companion, "these will last you a long time, so it's not like it's a waste."

Kat thanked the teller and the two left the store. Stretch quickly tore into the box of shoes and swapped them with the pesky sandals that irritated between his toes.

"Thanks for all this, Kat."

"It was about time," she told him. " I really should have thought about it before you came back."

"And miss out on being chased naked through the house?"

Kat gave him a look. "Did you _want_ to be chased naked through the house?"

"_No_!" Stretch cried. "Who wants that?!"

"I said I was sorry! I would have had to guess your sizes, so who knows if I would have gotten anything that fit."

"I can't be that hard to shop for."

"Your ghost was so scrawny! Like, you could have turned sideways and that would have been enough to make you invisible." Kat reached down and filled her hand with the roundness of one of his cheeks and she laughed when he jumped. "At least now you have a little meat to you. Speaking of, are you getting hungry?"

"A little," Stretch replied, rubbing his stomach. "Where should we eat?"

"What do you feel like eating?"

He chuckled lowly and leaned in to whisper, "I could eat you..."

"No," she giggled and shoved him gently, "for real. What sounds good?"

"Um..." He looked around for a while, but nothing he saw seemed to pique his interest.

"If you don't know, can I pick?"

"Sure." Stretch nodded.

Kat smiled, "I know just the place."

Kat lead her newly-dressed companion down a small street. They passed a few shops until they arrived at a tiny diner. Kat would often visit here for lunch in the warm days as the place would close when winter came around.

"I'll have two _Wednesday Specials_," Kat began as she gazed the menu.

"With floats?" asked the attendant.

"Oh yes," Kat nodded with hungry eyes. "With floats. And add an order of fries."

The attendant gave her the total for the order and Kat pulled out a small, colorfully handmade wallet from her back pocket. She handed the young man a few bills and he gave her some coins in return. When their order arrived, the two found their seats window-side.

"Did you want to come here just so you get French-fries?"

"That might have been an influencing factor in my decision." She shoved the pack of fries at him. "Here, taste these!"

He took a few of the crispy and still piping hot fries and ate them. "Oh..."

"Yeah, that's right,” Kat nodded, grinning widely. “You enjoy that delicious potato-y goodness, don't you?"

"These are really good." He ate a few more. "So," and a few more. "I'm just... going to eat all of them."

Kat's grin shrank. "You're not gonna share any with me?"

"No." Stretch said, eating another four of the diminishing fries. "I don't think I will."

"That's so mean!" she cried out. "I got them for both of us! You're not even gonna give me one?"

"Well, if you want them," Stretch continued to eat from the paper pack, "come and take them."

"You're not—" Kat's precious snack was disappearing before her eyes!

"Oh I am, Kit-Kat." Stretch said, offering a challenge. "Lemme see how fast you can run."

"I haven't even finished my float yet." Kat replied to that.

"How much do you have left? Here, I'll help you with that—"

"No, at least leave me with this, you monster!" She clutched her float close to her. "I want the rest of this!"

She tried to reach for what few fries remained, but he knocked the last bits of golden goodness back into his gullet, leapt out of his stool and was out the door. He knocked on the glass of the window and Kat could hear him telling her to hurry up. She took a big bite out of the burger she hadn't had a chance to savor, wrapped it up with Stretch's uneaten one and placed them into her bag. If he wasn't going to eat it, she at least would later.

"I'll carry one." Stretch gestured to her bag and their shopping haul. "That way it's even."

"Alright then." Kat handed him the bag holding the old shirt and shoebox.

"First one back to the house wins." Stretch pointed the way to the finish line, through buildings and alleyways and trees and up a hilly road.

"All the way back?!"

"You're not afraid to lose to someone whose been without legs longer than he's been with them, are you?"

"_Ha_!" Kat tossed her nose in the air and scoffed, "I'm going to laugh when you get a cramp from eating too fast."

Stretch gave her a goading, wide grin. "We'll just see whose laughing, Kitten."

She was ready, he was set, off they went!

Suddenly, Stretch darted into an alleyway, cackling echoes as he disappeared.

"Shit!" Kat skidded to a stop to see which way he went. She lost sight of him. The sound of shopping bags swishing in the wind and a can falling out of a bin turned her head, she spotted a fleck of plum color dashing away.

"Oh no you don't!" She sprinted after him. Down the alleys and taking a hard left she let her legs carry her as fast as she go. The tight turns made it difficult to keep an eye on him, but she was as well-traveled of these streets as he, and if he thought he could make her lose her way, he had another thing coming.

"Catchin' up now, are ya?"

She was close enough to nearly grab him then. Her hand reached out but he seemed to skip two steps ahead. They were coming back to the main road now, Kat felt a rush of energy bursting through her and she sailed a stride past him.

"What?" Stretch blinked.

"C'mon slowpoke," Kat shouted. "Try and keep up!"

She was perhaps a little too ambitious, the road's end was not in sight yet, and her legs were burning. Stretch was closing the small gap she had made and his own burst of adrenaline sent him ahead of her. The hill slowed him down, he was starting to huff and puff louder than she was. She managed to run up to him and took his hand, dragging him sluggishly up the driveway.

The two fell into the grass as soon as they reached past the manor gate, only feet from the finish-line.

"I... am... _never_... running again..." said Kat as she was gasping for breath.

"My heart is beating so fast right now and I want to throw up." Stretch was gasping and groaning and chuckling all at once.

"Is this what dying is?"

"No. I think we'll be fine."

"You should have shared some of those fries with me..." Kat cried out, exhausted. "I'm too tired to move now! My body relies on carbs to function..."

"You know," Stretch began, "what we really should have done is..."

"Don't say it." Kat warned him.

"_Str_—"

"_Don't_!" Kat shook her head from side to side.

"Stretched first."

"I hate you." she groaned.

"Nice try Kit-Kat," Stretch rolled over onto his side, "but I know better."

"You're right, I don't hate you." Kat said to him. "I actually kind of like you."

"I actually kind of like you too, Kit-Kat."

"What should we do now?"

"Hm, I have an idea—" Stretch brought himself up from the ground and reached out his hand, Kat took the sure grip and pulled herself to her feet, brushing away some grass and dirt from them both.

"Do you know about the cave at the bottom of the cliff?"

"Sure I do. I found it, geez, forever ago. I'd go there sometimes when the tide is low to clear my head."

"Oh," Stretch frowned a little, "well that's disappointing."

"Why?" Kat asked. "How come?"

"I was supposed to woo you with this romantic surprise," he explained, "but you already know about it."

"Aw, don't give up on those woos yet." Kat gently took his hand. "Come on, let's go."

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

Crickets were beginning to chirp quietly their distaste for the cool in the air that had snuck its way around.

Kat sprinted in a burst passed the Harvey’s car and skipped up to the stairs.

“I win.” Kat said as she stood proudly at the second-from-the-bottom step before the great wooden entrance doors, even if still a little winded from her race with Stretch. Here she stood as tall as he did.

He stole a quick peck from her forehead. “Think you’ll win the next one?”

Out of breath from even the thought, Kat shook her head, “I believe I said I’m never running again.”

“Oh no,” Stretch jumped up the steps “I’m not lettin’ you get away that easy, Kitten. We’re gonna have a rematch soon.”

Kat scoffed, leapt up the rest of the stairs and brushed him aside as she moved to the door and opened it as quietly as she could. Stretch offered her an impatient look, took it himself and it swung open with a rickety groan. He stepped inside and Kat followed him a second later in a quiet huff.

The lights inside were out for apart from one or two as a courtesy to the halls. The lack of noise graced the creaking of their footsteps, and Kat was quick to tip-toe onto some boards in the floor she knew were still silent. In the kitchen, they found the Doc had gone to bed or was elsewhere occupied. Kat’s angst had dissolved as she grabbed herself a glass and refreshing drink from the kitchen faucet. She gulped it down greedily and let out a quenched sigh.

Stretch took her empty glass and filled with his own drink and he hastily chugged it, refilled it and chugged that one too.

“Ready?” he asked Kat who was double-checking the contents of her bag.

She slipped it onto her shoulders and assured its steadiness with a little shake. “Ready!”

They slipped through the far end of the dining area, through a door that lead into a large sun-room. Once inside, they crossed the room filled with antique furniture, bleached and warped from decades of exposure. A few happy ferns and spider-plants James had bought served well to brighten the color around. Kat turned the rusted brass handle that opened to the back patio.

Off to the left side, there was a little pebbled way that dotted the lip of the cliffs’ edge. It was a path wide enough for a foot to stand comfortably, but the drop from the height of the manor’s edge would have certainly killed them both. They would need to step lightly.

Kat went first, holding her arms out for help in balance. She could hear the excited _crunching_ of small stones under new shoes right behind her. The clouds had cleared away in the night, giving room for a bright full-moon that illuminated their way from across the sea.

The smooth pebbles continued to line along the side of dirt and rocks and roots. Kat lost herself for a moment in the sound of the wind and the waves, she felt a pair of hands slowly grab her by the waist. She would have turned around to kiss him then, but the path wasn’t forgiving enough, so on they went. Kat gripped to and underneath a few crooked and twisty roots that snaked through the side as the stones descended a little further.

Minutes along the weather-beaten way, though still quite a drop from even here, fresh and persistent roots tangled around the old and some recent injuries of previous years cut away. Stretch reached over her to pull back an earthy clutter of twigs and stems, a small way into the wall of dirt and rock was found.

She swung her leg over the thick ledge, and once she was halfway inside, the ceiling gave way to allow her a little more room to crawl through. She grabbed onto another dangling root to pull herself inward. The drop down was safe enough, though the landing would always kind of hurt the balls of her feet, and this time would be no different. She bounced a little to get her blood flowing again.

She moved aside as Stretch clambered through. He took a sure hold of the ancient tree root, pulled himself out of the hole and let himself fall. He landed hard on his two feet and grunted loudly.

“Careful.” Kat told him and kept going as he brushed some dust of his landing away.

The cave had a smooth decline that slinked and wrapped around the innards of the dark stone walls, illuminated only by blue reflections. Dripping water echoed in the chamber and sand cushioned their sore soles. The sound of the ocean presented a small beach and then revealed to them an endless view of sapphire starlight and flickering of sliver across the waves.

“I just realized something,” Kat said to Stretch. “It’s official.”

“What is?” Stretch’s trailing grasp found her back again and he pulled her close.

“You’ve eaten and slept, you have new clothes, and you’ve done some _other_ things,” she lifted a small patch of his shirt to let a single button loose. “Welcome to society. Again.”

Stretch chuckled and was no doubt about to comment on the smoothness of her line, but a finger silenced him.

Kat took a few steps back and tossed her bag off her shoulder. She let it drop into the sand and looked back at her companion with a sly smirk. Slowly, she shrugged her jacked away and it found a spot to rest onto the ground. Stretch seemed to gather her intentions and casually leaned against a wall’s edge.

She let her hands slide under her top and around her thighs, she caressed herself under her bra and his lusty smile forced her eyes closed when her thumb brushed against her stiffened nipple. She let the hem of her clothing dangle between her fingers as they traveled up and down her skin. He sighed and she felt an ignition to fling her loose top over her head. Keeping with the motion she had made herself, she lifted her bra and discarded it in similar motion and allowed her breasts to spill out.

She stepped closer to him, the slight chill from the night air drawing her near. Kat invited him to finish the rest of the work on removing her capris while she spent some attention on his shirt. Gently, he slid a warm hand around her back and pushed the soft brim of her pants down, His fingers traced the shape of her lean curves and he gripped a tight handful, she sighed and whimpered when his warmth of his mouth found a place in her neck. Kat kicked the rest of her clothes away, another kiss on her jaw sent sparkling tingles through her, but the breeze twisted it into a tiny shudder.

“_Are you cold?_” he asked in a low voice, rubbing some warmth back into her.

“_A little,_” Kat replied in a voice as quiet, “_but I’m not going to care soon._”

He chuckled and wasted little time in tearing the rest of his own clothes away. Kat noticed goosebumps starting to rise on his arms and she couldn’t stop herself from smirking. While he was busy with himself, she rifled through her pile of discarded garments and fetched from her bag what was necessary. She wasted no moment in helping his cover on when he was ready and would worry later about seeing to the foil trash.

Stretch looked around for a second and suggested with a shrug at the ground for her to lay on.

“I’m not gonna get sand in my vag, thanks.” Kat said stiffly.

“Fine, then—“ Stretch lifted her up.

“Oh!” came Kat’s surprise.

In a swift motion he lifted her against the waveworn wall. “This work?” He held her legs around him tightly and her back wedged firmly to the rock.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, “I think so...” This way seemed steady enough.

It was a little cold, but smooth as well against her bare back and shoulders. The hardiness of the wall, and the use of her upper-body this way was a bit uncomfortable, though soon her the heat from her own anticipation softened the porous chill.

His hips ground into hers, his engorged flesh felt as a hot iron on her belly. She caught her wanting exhale, but then, released it, she let her excitement show. There was no way anyone could hear them down here, and she wanted so much to be careless with him.

“Good...” Stretch shuffled his footing some and positioned himself to slide within her. He lowered his face to hers, “will you let me fuck you senseless now?”, and pressed in a little more.

Her brow tensed, she growled, or giggled she wasn't quite sure, and her right leg curled around his rear to draw more of him inside of her, “_yes,” _Kat groaned, “_I want it..!_”

“Where is it? That place that makes your eyebrows curl when my cock or my fingers touch it... _Oh_...” he shuddered, “_there_...?” And purred against her lips, “_have I found it?__ That's _it– _there_ isn't it?” He kissed her deep, plunging his tongue into her open mouth, grunting when she played hers around his and drawing her lustful moans to wet his thirst. Stretch rolled his hips against hers, then took a step back. Kat's legs were pulled forward slightly and the angle allowed his mass to churn a slippery, intoxicating massage into that spot inside her that made her nails scrape across the stone and nearly scream. He slammed into her again and again in his own passion, the cries of her pleasures crawling up the stones and roots above them when her head rolled back, begging him, _harder_!

He eagerly obliged, and laughed or whimpered, she wasn't quite sure. In his rhythm, he slipped, but found her again and her reaction to his force tucked a sinful grin at the edge of his lips. All of him slowly slid from her and waited for her pleading expression to tell him _again! _Stretch's mass twitched in her, lingering away from her warm and wet insides had brought a tingling coolness to his slicked covering, but her eyes were to his. His movements became reckless, grinding feverishly against her center of pleasure in clumsier moments. Kat cursed into her forearm she braced her head against.

She wanted to let herself be lost even more, but she was struggling somewhat to keep herself steady. Kat felt a tightness in her muscles and aching legs, the noises she mustered beginning to betray hints of her discomfort. She tried to focus on the jolting sensations of his thighs and sounds of his mass so far into her depths and his own low and quiet moans behind strained, gritted teeth, every time his entirety filled her.

She didn’t want to be too tired, not yet. She had never been held this way before, never heard or felt someone enjoy her so much this way, she wanted him to send her over the edge like this. Her eyes closed, though the fear of slipping sent a flash of chill through her spine and she became aware of the rock wall that had been rubbing away at her skin. She tightened her legs around him.

Stretch braced her back with his arm and lifted her up again, breaking pace only a moment to adjust himself. Kat’s limbs felt limp, but she gripped her wrists around his neck and let her senses continue to be thrashed and prodded so sweetly and rough. She caught a glance of him, and he smiled. He slowed a little to taste her trembling lips.

Too soon however, her ribs grew tight, her legs were too numb and slipping around him. His moving lightened and stopped and let her stand. In the next moment he was pulling her down with him, he did not mind the soft sand. Kat found herself with her thighs around him and her toes tickled by cool shore, she heaved a relaxed sigh as the tiredness and tension in her body began to ease away.

The view was grand as well. The quiet crashing of sea against shore in azure glow, coupled with their labored breathing made her forget all about her chills.

“You’re gorgeous in this light... I love... watching you ride me, Kat. Look at you go...off into the horizon again... Take me with you.”

“Shut up..!” Her goosebumps were back and prickled her skin sharply, “and let me..._hn_!”

“Something wrong?” Stretch goaded Kat along, but his hands found hers and his fingers traced and laced themselves between them. “Can’t talk... with your cunt full?”

“It’s so hard... for me to think...” She let go of his grasp to hold back her delirium inside of her head. “When you’re so...! When I’m... I’m—!”

“Already?” He held her bounding hips down with a good squeeze and she writhed, curling and crying out her ecstasies on top of him and taking her own handfuls of his skin to dig her nails into while the aching tightness of her insides throbbed around him.

“I’m not... done with you...” She told him and rose back up and swung herself over his side. Her hands and knees met with the beach. Kat swept her long hair away and signaled with a tilt of her head where she wanted him. He was up without a moments waste and moved behind her.

“K-Kat, a-are you alright?!”

“I’m a little wobbly,” she breathily said and her head fell forward, the rest of her body wanting so much to sprawl into the infinite shards of shells and pebbles. “I’m pretty sure I still have legs, but I’m— Oh...”

A dark shimmer reflected off the slick latex. He touched it and fluids stuck to him, the color remained on his fingers but quickly flushed from his face, he looked in complete shock. The sight and scent emerging caused a familiar pang in Kat’s body and she quickly realized what happened.

“It’s okay!” Kat scurried up and tried to calm him. “It’s okay. It’s just my period.”

“Are you alright?” Stretch asked, appearing not to have heard her.

“Yes, I’m fine, I’m not hurt, you didn’t hurt me. Look, it’s fine. Are you okay? Let me help you...” Kat’s gentle grasp enclosed around his cover, she pinched it off and rolled it away with a snap. “See? Like it never happened.”

He had no response, only watching her toss it into the sand.

“Listen to me Stretch, I’m fine. I am okay, I promise. I thought I had another day left... I’m sorry if it scared you.”

“No...” The color began to reappear on him. “No. I’m just glad I didn’t hurt you.” He rubbed his shoulders and looked away. “We should get back, it’s really late.”

Kat felt an awkwardness steal the joy away from the view around her. She shrugged it off, gathered her clothes with a few shakes, and some napkins from their stop at the diner. With the rest of the napkins she gathered the litter in the sand and stuffed it into her pocket after redressing in a pensive silence.

Their saunter back along the winding and slight accent was as quiet. Kat nudged him and smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear when he nudged her back.

Stretch eyed her up and down and then from the ground to the thick, dangling root above them when they reach the end.

“What?” Kat piped.

“How'd you get back up?” Stretch asked her.

“Normally, I struggled.” Kat responded. “But I'd eventually get back up.”

“I could make it easier for you,” Stretch knelt down and patted his back. “Hop on?”

She was unsure for a moment, but she did. She straddled her legs around his shoulders and giving her a sudden start, he lifted her up to the root. She took a hold of it, wiggled herself up onto the ledge and poked her head back in to watch his efforts at climbing out.

He jumped, and missed. He jumped again and nearly grabbed it that time. Third time was his charm, in getting a hold of it at least. He swung his other arm up, got a little higher, and Kat caught him when his other hand slipped. She had a somewhat difficult time pulling him up, but her own efforts and foot bracing against the slight ledge paid off and soon they were out of the twig-covered tunnel. The two made their careful way back to the manor.

“Back in a bit.” Kat disappeared with a balled lump of a change of clothes. Soon after the dull noise of a rickety washing machine in far corner of the manor hummed along with the crickets outside her window. Stretch reclined himself on her bed and waited for her to return.

When she came back, dressed in a simple long shirt and some fleece p-jay's, she heard the low grumble of an empty stomach growl at her. Stretch rubbed it sheepishly.

“Oh, so _now_ you're hungry?” She replied to his stomach.

“Can't'cha tell?”

She rolled her eyes and opened her bag and shuffled through its contents. “Aw, you know that’s a shame. Too bad we don’t have something to—“ and she smoothly pulled out one and a half of cold cheeseburgers, “wait a second, we totally do!”

Stretch _ooh'd_ at the forgotten meal and scooted close.

“Heh,” Kat gave him a look. “It's cute that you think I’m gonna share this with you.”

“I’ll give you something for it,” he tried to bargain.

She was skeptical. “What do you have?”

“I have...” he reached for something random on her nightstand, he grabbed her scrunchie she had tossed there earlier. “This?”

“That’s already mine.” She unwrapped his portion and took a small bite. He reached for hers instead but she tucked it away behind her.

“Alas,” he sighed and slumped and sullenly scooted closer to her. “I have nothing but myself to offer you.”

“Tempting,” she said and took another bite and swallowed, wiping a bit of sauce from her lips with her thumb. “But this is also tasty.”

“Hm. One bite?”

Her eyes narrowed. “How bad you want it?”

“Real bad.” His mouth watered.

“Fine, here, I won’t keep you hungry.” Kat handed him his leftover remains and he happily snatched them up. She continued to nibble on what was left of her own slightly-squished snack.

Their thirst was imminent, and so they stole away into the fridge and took for themselves the crisp spirits of their choice. Drinks in hand, they sat around the table. Stretch gestured the edge of his can for her to _cheer_ her soda bottle against and she did so with a light nod.

“Nice night?” Stretch asked.

“Yeah, it really was.” Kat sighed and let the cold condensation tickle her finger. “I had a lot of fun.”

“I did too. Didn't quite... work out as I had hoped–”

“I'm fine, Stretch. Feel a little pride, why don't you?”

“Pride?”

Kat lowered her bottle from her lips and her voice into a scandalous whisper, “_no one's ever made me cum that hard before...”_

His grin was back, wide across his face. He took a satisfied swig of his beer, but a bubbled burp leaked through his nose. Kat giggled.

They finished their drinks and cold supper and headed back to bed on tipping toes. Sleep would claim them as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

A few hours later, Kat began to stir and mumble, kicking her sheets off and back onto her feet. Stretch woke when she rolled over and took the rest of the blanket with her.

“You’re making an awful lot of noise over there, Kit-Kat. And you gotta share a _little_ of this with me at least. Hey...” he shook her twice, but gently. “Wake up.”

“I don’t care about your dumb couch...” Kat muttered into her pillow.

“Huh?”

“Nap here if I wanna...lea'me alone..”

“You still dreamin', Kitten? Wake up for a second.”

“_Noooo_..!” Kat protested. This time it seemed she heard him, and began to rub the sleep away. “_Hmng_...” she groaned, “cramps...”

“You sure I didn’t—“

“I’m sure,” she said, yawning and flipping the tangled blanket and sheets from her roughly. “It’s like this every month, but just for the first couple days. I’m gonna go take something for it. And... a shower.”

“I could join you.”

“I mean, you _could_? Do you _really _want to?”

“On second thought...”

“Yeah.” Kat said stiffly. “Just go back to sleep. I’ll come back when my lady-business stops screaming at me.”

Stretch laid back into her bed and fidgeted with the covers.

Freshened up after a while, and the angry vice-grip inside her quelled with medicinal assistance, she slipped back into her bedroom, and found him snoozing away on his side. She curled up next to him, and he made quiet, tired noises and reached for her arm.

The crickets had gone to sleep as well, a blue line began to crawl up the edge of her curtains. Kat was relieved she had the next day off from work. Reminded of that, the rest of her tension melted away and slumber finally came to her.


	10. Chapter 10

Headlights cast their lengthy eyes in some scarce pairs along the other side of the road, blinking behind the wood and fence barrier as they sped past.

They had finally made it through the small town of Friendship, the outlines of the city next on the map would see their journey slowed.

For the spectral crew and their human host however, it seemed hours had gone by, and the view ahead was little more than the same glowing red scowl on the same sedan, inching forward in a strangling crawl.

‘_In two miles, take the exit on your right_.’

“You’ve said that a dozen times now!” Stinkie shouted at the dashboard.

“She can’t hear you,” said Casper. “She isn’t real.”

“You can be so careless sometimes, nephew. Such a hurtful thing to say about my dear, sweet Nissy.”

“_Nissy_?” Fasto gave his brother in Arthur’s skin a look.

“That’s what I said, wasn’t it? Hand me some of that jerky, I want something to chew on.”

Fatso tossed him a few of the snack sticks from the back seat. Stinkie quickly tore into one with Arthur’s teeth and began munching on it, tossing the wrapper over on the passenger side. Casper gave his uncle yet another annoyed look, picked it up and put it into a plastic bag that had been filling up with junk food leavings.

The line of traffic continued to chip away at the distance on the screen. Eventually, flashing lights grew brighter in shades of red and blues, and a cause of the congestion was surmised by the travelers. A truck in its nighttime haul had lost a plank of the wood it was carrying from a pile stacked too loosely. Another vehicle had nearly avoided what might have been a lethal accident, swerving into the barrier just in time. Though the damage to the person’s vehicle appeared to be a lot, it looked like no one was hurt.

The line dispersed in faster pace once past the wreck. Soon, a wide, green sign _wizzing_ over them and helpful voice from the dash gave the spectral crew cause to relax, they would reach their next destination in less than another mile.

The route guided them through an underpass, they turned onto a road with a hospital’s sign at its edge. Soon they approached a parking garage connecting to the hospital. Stinkie gave the building a sideways look, a little hesitant to enter. He winced when they went under the yellow bumper to mark the height limit and was pleasant surprised when he didn’t feel it bump against the roof of the car like he thought it might. 

“Look around for a place.” Stinkie told his passengers.

“There’s one!” Casper pointed out. But when they got closer, it wasn’t a spot a man like Arthur needed more than someone else could have better use of.

“I mean, technically we’re dead.” Stinkie shrugged. “I’d say that counts as a handicap.”

“We don’t get to use that in this case.” Casper chided his uncle. “Kat would argue that it’s not.”

“She’d also break my nose,” he replied full of snark, “does that count?”

“You don’t get special parking for a broken nose.” Casper retorted.

“What about halitosis?”

“I wouldn’t know, Stink.” said Fatso.

“Look over that way you guys,” Casper pointed to another potential spot. “I think that’s one we can use.”

“Surprise, surprise!” Stinkie groaned when they arrived closer. “It’s hogged by a damn _MOTORCYCLE_!”

“There’s another floor.”

Their efforts did prove fruitful after some more patient searching. They secured a spot close to an entrance on a low floor. Casper told his uncles he hoped that meant the blood they would need wouldn’t be far off. Their first haul had been in the underground of the hospital, so it stood to reason that they might be lucky looking in similar places.

Stinkie adjusted his seat back and threw Arthur’s arms behind his head and yawned. “Wake me up when you get back.”

Off the ghosts went, with speedy invisibility into the entrance of the hospital. Inside was a much busier scene than before, the noises all around seemed louder and more chaotic. The two ghosts split away in preparation to move the prize they were after. Casper took an immediate descent to locate its whereabouts, while Fatso would be on a search for a host to carry their haul with.

Casper flew through the floors, until he reached a noisy room full of strange machines. Stacks and stacks of metal bricks with hundreds of blinking green lights, and a forest of blue and yellow wires spilling from them were behind metal cages. The wires were looped together in tight neat ropes, feeding into a pipe that must have sent them all throughout the hospital. Casper quickly gained a clever idea. He scanned the lettering printed on some of the bricks; if the wires went to a certain floor, then there should be some place written where that floor was. Maybe even what was on that floor.

Dangling from the other side of the cage, the little ghost was greeted with the wonderful surprise of a floor-plan, tucked nicely away in a plastic protector. This was exactly what he needed! Unfortunately however, he couldn’t understand some of the names given on the sheet for some of the rooms. They looked like medical terms, and no one had been kind enough to just plainly write _Blood Room_.

He noticed that the sections listed as Labs were bunched together. Labs usually had all sorts of tools needed to handle and study all kinds of things, maybe even the blood they were after. He nodded, satisfied that he should start looking around there. Casper _zipped_ out of the wire room and headed towards the labs.

On his way, the sounds of water splashing and voices carrying caught his attention. He looked around for the source of the noise and soon arrived at a place with a large swimming pool. A small group of old folks were having a class in the pool’s shallows.

Casper found himself floating around, steam and the overly strong smell of chlorine pushing him away into the next room. He saw weird-looking recreational equipment, and weirder still, there was a table set out in the center of the place, with a great big cake setting right in the middle. Casper noticed the balloons and streamers next, and a big colorful sign that read ‘HAPPY RETIREMENT’ was taped to the edge of the table. Two people in scrubs then emerged from around the corner, carrying buckets of ice and bottled drinks. Casper gasped and quickly _flittered_ away before they ran into him. Safe for a moment inside a locker room, he eyed a loose duffle bag. It belonged to someone else, he knew... but having a bag would be much easier to use than fiddling with a stretcher again. He sighed and picked it up.

To get it out of the room was actually a simple task. Casper sunk himself into floor, holding onto the edges of the bag with his hands above him. He skittered it across the floor, popping his head up once or twice to make sure no one noticed him. He wasn’t sure what his plan was if someone tried to grab it from him... Luck was on his side, the duffle bag made it through the door. Casper wondered if he would have a better chance in the next leg of his search if he tried transporting the bag in a reverse manner. He held the bag high up against the flat ceiling and pulled it along. A little ways away, the little ghost spotted a tall potted plant in an empty waiting room he could stash the bag behind until he found his uncle.

A map on the wall pointed Casper into the direction he should take next. He slipped around a corner and behind the doors along the extended hallway were the section of Labs.

The keycard system in place aside the handles appeared nearly identical to the one at the hospital in Friendship. This would not dismay the optimistic little ghost however, they had managed to successfully overcome that trial, and a second time at it shouldn’t prove any worse.

Casper poked his head into the different rooms, until he came to one with a single doctor looking around for something.

“_Boo_?” Casper cringingly revealed himself and crossed his fingers that his uncle had found a host.

“There you are!” The jolly doctor looked up with a start.

“_Whew_!” Casper sighed, relieved. “Okay... I’ll be right back.”

“Whatcha got there?” Fatso asked his nephew when he pulled the duffle bag under the seam of the door.

“We’re going to... borrow this bag.” Casper replied begrudgingly.

“That’s a real useful find, Shortsheet.” Fatso said. “When we’re done with this whole trip, and we’re all back in the flesh, we’ll return it and the cooler. How’s that sound?”

“Thanks Uncle Fatso. Did you find the blood already?”

“Yep, it’s in this fridge.” He thumbed behind him. “You’d think they’d keep a better eye on this stuff.” The doctor shook his head in disbelief.

Suddenly door _beeped_. The handle turned. Casper made himself unseen the moment his heart plummeted, and a man in a lab-coat poked his head through the doorway.

“Aha! There you are!” He said brightly to Fatso’s host. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing in here?”

“Just grabbing some lunch.” Fatso responded, having no idea what to do.

“Why? _It’s _today and _it’s _about to happen in about twenty minutes. There’s food already there, come on.”

“I-I’ll catch up with you.” Fatso said to the impatient fellow. “You go on with out me and I’ll meet you... uhh, where is it?”

“Really? Did you not even read your email at all this week? It’s in the rec room. The surprise retirement party—”

“Right.” Fatso nodded, trying to feign a recognition of the event. “Oh, right! It must have just slipped my mind. Like I said buddy, I’ll meet you there.”

“If you’re not there, Laura’s going to be pissed, and I’m not getting involved into that drama again. Even though, low-key it keeps me alive in this place. Just don’t be late.”

“Can you go see where he went off to?” asked the jolly doctor. “I don’t want to risk us getting stopped. I’ll pack this up for us.”

“I can distract him,” Casper nodded. “_And _buy a way for us to make it out unnoticed.”

“Crashin’ a party?”

“Hehehehe,” Casper giggled. “Yep!”

He flew out in search. It was a short one, as the nosy doctor was standing only a few feet away from the Lab’s door. Casper looked around. The coast was clear. He took a deep breath, readying himself to possess this man, when suddenly the elevator nearby chimed open and a bubbly young nurse stepped out.

“Emir!” She waved to the doctor. “Where’s Thomas? We gotta get there before the newbies take all the good beer.” The nurse hurriedly called the doctor over, and reluctantly he obliged. They boarded the elevator, while Casper joined them unseen.

“When did it get so cold in here?” The nurse shivered and rubbed her shoulders.

“I don’t know,” replied her colleague. “It’s awful... The air must be on the fritz again.”

“The old man’s not even out of the building yet, and they’re already cutting maintenance costs.”

The elevator reached its floor and soon Casper was greeted with the cheerful sounds of an ongoing party.

Music was playing loudly in the room, people dressed in scrubs of all different colors mingled with the clusters of white coats, almost matching the sprinkles on the cake being dished out. The distractions were aplenty, and Casper safely scanned around the party-goers for something to work with.

Popping some balloons? Nah, that wouldn’t be enough. Throwing chunks of cake at people? No... that might cause a real fight and he didn’t want anyone to not be friends at a celebration.

The rec equipment had been stacked along the mirrored walls, he noticed, and suddenly he began to get ideas. He saw a treadmill placed next to a set of weights. Perfect.

With all the strength he could muster, the little ghost lifted up the end of the heavy weight and tilted it onto the treadmill. It crashed with kind of a louder _thud _than he expected. Laura’s friend turned around from the noise, and shrugged when nothing else happened.

Casper looked at the treadmills controls, searching for an On button. He found one!

In the next second, the treadmill kicked on its highest gear and the weight at its end flipped up and shattered the mirror into huge chunks of glass. The force sent the weight flying into the pool next door where it made great splash and quickly sank to the bottom. A sea of surprised gasps and screams carried over the music as people hollered their _what was that’s!_

People whipped out their phones and began taking snapshots of the incident, others called others within the hospital to tell them of the event. A cautious announcement was played overhead that the entire recreational wing was closed until further notice.

Casper phased through the walls of the hospital and floated along until he reached the parking garage.

“Come on, come on!” Stinkie waved out the window. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Wha’d we score this time?” Stinkie wriggled Arthur’s hands greedily.

“I got twenty-five this time.” Fatso replied proudly.

“Excellent!” his brother elated. “We’re halfway now!”

“Glad your mood’s starting to change, Uncle Stinkie.”

“A nap does ya wonders.”

And with that, the crew left the hospital behind. Why stop now when they were doing so well? They got onto the highway and headed for their next destination.

The radio began to play the same song that had come from their host's phone. It wasn't a bad one, they found, when it had the full band behind it. The ghosts bobbed their heads along with the music, Stinkie rolled down the window and belted along with the chorus. The fun and jumpy melody streaming through the interior had faded into the next track, but it would not seem like the man housing Stinkie had noticed.

His head-bobbing became a shaking, then suddenly the wheel jerked to the side and the car screeched and they were all screaming and fishtailing as Stinkie fought futilely with the steering. A rush of bushes was consumed by the rogue car, and they were speeding into an open field! The foot hit the break pedal, the back wheels dig into the earth and the car spun in a circle when the wheel jerked again. Stinkie managed to hold the feet off the pedals long enough for the car to stop. Casper quickly yanked the keys away.

“Wha–what happened?” The little ghost was shaking. “Is everyone alright?”

“I'm fine,” Fatso said, popping his head out of the cooler. “The cooler's okay.”

Stinkie didn’t respond, or couldn’t. He seemed locked in a battle with himself. “Won't...stop...fightin' me!”

“Don't hurt him, Uncle Stinkie!” Casper pleaded.

“Can't get... a good hit in with this... stupid belt on anyway!”

Arthur’s limbs suddenly fell limp, but Stinkie’s expression poking through was quite restless. “I think... I got it.” He popped his eyeballs back into place.

Fatso looked around. “What about the car?”

“It's still workin',” Stinkie lifted Arthur’s arms in the air and nearly sighed when they moved as he wanted them to. “We’re fine. I'll... I'll be right back. Gimme a second.”

“Where're ya goin'?” asked Fatso.

“I think I gotta take our boy for a walk.” Stinkie shrugged. “Shrub's a gooda' spot as any.”

He returned after a short while. Casper handed him back the keys once his seatbelt was fastened. The car took a moment, but gurgled up and sputtering after a few key-turns and some gas.

They got the car out of the field, leaving a very noticeable trail in the dirt.

“Let's find a place to feed him.” Stinkie said once they were back on the road. “I don't think he likes this shit I've eating.“

The crew drove along a little further until they found a diner. The waitress gave Stinkie in Arthur’s skin a frumpy scowl when he requested a booth instead of the table she offered. The other two ghosts took their seats unseen while Stinkie gazed at the menu with a hungry glare. He ordered a soda and a huge open-face sandwich smothered in mashed potatoes and gravy. When it arrived, he wasted little time and wolfed it down quickly and promptly belched loud enough to disturb everyone else's nice meal. Then, without skipping a beat he demanded the check.

His waitress was all too happy to see her guest leave. Her smile grew impossibly bright when she looked at her copy of the the receipt. It would seem Stinkie did not add an important decimal point to her tip. And with him already in his car and in quite the hurry he seemed to be in, she did not trouble herself to bother correcting the mistake.

“It’s getting late Uncle Stinkie. Maybe we should stop for tonight and pick up again tomorrow.”

“Might not be a bad idea.” Stinkie agreed. Casper was happy his uncle had done so, but in the back of his mind he knew it was only because he was afraid of being thrown out of Arthur again.

It didn’t take long for a hotel sign to appear along the way, and the crew turned onto the road it stood.

They found a parking spot, and Stinkie lugged the cooler out of the car carelessly. He carried it through the opening doors of the sleepy-looking hotel and up to the front desk.

“Hello, hello, nice to greet you. Are there any rooms available?”

“Yes. How long would you be staying?”

“Is this a _by-the-hour _establishment?”

“No.” The concierge replied dully. “It is not.”

Stinkie paid the concierge for one night’s use of a room.

He gathered his cooler and room-key and headed its way. He set the cooler by the foot of the bed and kicked off Arthur’s shoes. He turned his attention back to the locks on the great green container and flipped them up one by one. He carefully took a bloody bag out and looked at it under a lamp on a desk in the room.

“H-hey, be careful with that Uncle Stinkie.”

“Relax, Bulbhead.” Stinkie said. “I ain’t gonna rip one.” He was just curious what it looked like, how heavy it was. “Looks like one o' them juice packs.” He put it back into the cooler and locked it up. “We'll let Arthur sleep here for a few hours and then, we're on the move first thing in the morning.”

“But they have a free breakfast here.” Fatso whined.

“You can grab a donut on the way out!” Stinkie hopped onto the bed and flipped the TV on to surf through the channels.

The new Ghostly Trio and their human host, feeling the excitement from their journey so far really start to hit, they ended the evening playing a few card games and flipping through old magazines found in the lobby while the light from the television blinked softly in the background.

Later that night, they all awoke to a shrill and startled scream. “_Aa-ahhhh!_”

It appeared Stinkie lost his grip on Arthur while he slumbered and simply floated high above the man.

“_Who are you_?!” Arthur’s shouted. “_Where am I_?!”

“_Shhshhshhshh_!” Casper swiftly wrapped himself around Arthur’s mouth. “Don't worry, we aren't going to hurt you! I'm Casper. And these are my uncles, Stinkie and Fatso. Can I let go of you? You have to promise not to scream. It's okay, we're friendly.”

“H-hello.” Arthur squeaked. “Where am I?"

“You're in a hotel.” Stinkie explained to him. “You got us a nice room, you like it?”

“W-what are you?”

“We're ghosts, you stupid Bonebag! What else? Specters, apparitions from the afterlife! We’re—“

“_Why am I here_?!” Arthur shouted again, confused nearly to the point of tears. “What do you want with me? Why do I feel so... _awful_... H-have I been eating _meat_?!”

“That depends,” Fatso retorted. Genuinely curious, he asked, “What part of the cow does the _jim _come from?”

“Don’t you believe him!” Stinkie balled his fist at his brother. “I made sure to get the venison kind!”

“Well then, same question,” Fatso asked again, “which part is that?”

Arthur’s head shook heavily in disbelief. “Wh-what the fuck is happening right now?!”

Casper tried his turn next. “We, um, well, Arthur–”

“How do you know my name?!” Arthur jumped up with a start, kicking the blankets and pillows away in a frantic panic. That was enough to give poor and paranoid cause to scramble over a table, knocking it and the lamp setting nearby over in a frightened frenzy. Quickly, Casper was able to save the lamp, Stinkie was fashioning a lasso out of the towels from the bathroom, and Fatso had the door steadily blocked with the width of his translucent form.

Arthur would only need to reach the handle and turn it, but he was too terror-struck to take a step closer.

Casper took his chance again and tried cautiously moving a little closer, but it stirred the flight-instincts in the trembling fleshy. Casper grabbed a quick hold of Arthur, trying to be gentle. “S-sorry! W-we can't let you go just yet! You've got a lot of questions, a-and we can explain everything! You just... gotta stay calm!”

The chill from the ghosts caused shivering in the man, and the shivering slowed him. His breathing seemed to lessen in panic, but the look on his face was still heavily laden with fear. Casper handed him a blanket and Arthur took it cautiously.

“So, um, hi. I'm Casper, I said that before... Right. Um, well...” The friendly ghost was at a loss for words, but he soon found some. “We need to use your car to get to a lot of hospitals. We're looking for–”

“Somethin' that wouldn't interest you.” Stinkie butted in.

“W-why me?” Arthur meeped. “I need to go home, my app is being released soon and—!” The color flushed from his face again and he patted down his pockets. “Where is my phone!? What time is it?! I need to call my wife!”

“You dropped it.” Stinkie told him.

“We lost your phone,” said Casper. “I'm really sorry.”

“Oh... no!” Arthur clutched his head. “No! This is not good, not good, not good! My... my entire life was on that! All of my scripts...! I had a finished product! And my presentation is tomorrow–”

“Yeah, gonna wanna cancel that presentation, pal.” Stinkie patted his host on the back. “Think of it this way, you're just on a little vacation! And we’re takin’ you all sorts of places, fleshy!”

“I don't... You still haven't answered why you had to abduct me!”

“You ain't nothin' special, just a convenient fit for the threea' us. Least I thought so.” Stinkie shrugged.

“Please, please let me go...” Arthur pleaded with the ghosts. “I need to go home.”

“You'll get there, my friend.” Fatso inched closer and gave Stinkie a nod. “We just need to borrow you a little while longer—“ He pried the man’s mouth open and Stinkie held his arms back. Arthur’s eyes rolled up into his head as Fatso took a difficult possession of him. Shaking himself back to, Arthur’s expression returned to a calm, but tired sign of relief. “I've got 'im.” Fatso told the ghosts. “Sleep if you want to. There’s still time before breakfast.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Mmmorning...” Kat grumbled.

“Afternoon sleepyhead.” Stretch’s hand swept her hair from her brow. “How’ya feelin’?”

“I feel...” Kat took a deep breath and outstretched her arms and toes out far into her pillows and sheets_, “hmmnnn_—! _Ahh_!” Her long, relaxed sigh was followed bluntly with, “I’m... sore. But not in a bad way. Kind of like... an old bruise, you poke it and it feels weird. Kind of tickles almost.”

“I have some of that going on too.” Stretch groaned playfully. “I bet if I look, I’ll be bruised black and blue from all that bouncing I took from you last night.”

Kat closed her eyes, still heavy with sleep. “I’ll take that compliment with some breakfast on the side.”

“What are we having?” Stretch tapped the tip of her nose some to wake her back up.

“What are you making?” Kat pondered to him.

“Heh, you serious?”

“Yeah,” she yawned. “I could go for some crazy concoction your brain thinks is food.”

“Actually,” he hummed, “how about... Okay so, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, you ready?”

Kat nodded eagerly. The anticipation of a little gift caused her reaching toes to tickle his. She liked that he was still here with her. She could get used to the sight of him aside her every morning.

Stretch replied, “I was watching some videos while you were out yesterday. I found one about these... these... they look like soufflés, but they’re pancakes, and they looked delicious. They aren’t much different than regular ones, you just gotta do the eggs differently.”

“I think I’ve seen those,” Kat said, resisting the urge to snuggle deeper into the covers with her companion. “They did look pretty good. Let’s try it out.”

“Aren’t you gonna get up?” He nudged her some.

“You first.” Her arm drifted across him, she rolled over and she tucked a foot under his.

“No, you.” Stretch said quietly. She felt him gently caress her along her side. The tips of his fingers nearly tickled her, raising gooseflesh on her skin under her nightshirt.

“_I can’t_.” Kat’s eyes had closed again.

“_Me neither_,” he sighed, content. “We’ll try to move together. On three?”

“But I’m so comfortable...” she mumbled.

“One...” he counted.

“This blanket is so soft...” she protested, “and I don’t have to do shit today.”

“Twooo...” She felt those gentle digits trailing along her threaten to tickle further.

‘_Do _not _tickle me. If you fucking tickle me right now...’_

“And this bed is so warm, and— fine!” Kat squirmed away from him threw the covers over his face. “I’ll get up.”

Finally coaxed out of bed, the two made their way into the kitchen. Kat strode over and emptied out the lukewarm pot of coffee to make a fresh one.

“Okay Chef,” Kat tossed Stretch an apron, “what do we need?” She grabbed another for herself to use and tied her long hair back.

He pointed to a cabinet and the refrigerator. “Gimme the flour, some sugar, and some eggs. And some milk too.”

“Oh no...” Kat pulled the carton from the fridge. “We’re almost out of eggs, we’ve only got three left.”

“That should be enough.” Stretch said.

Kat gathered up the ingredients they would need, and poured some caffeinated refreshment for themselves while Stretch searched in the cabinets and drawers for the tools he wanted to use. He took out a few bowls, a wooden spoon, some old tin measuring cups and pushed around some other junk in a drawer until he found a hand-mixer.

“How do we get the yolk out, though?” Stretch scratched his head. “That video I saw showed all the stuff all ready and I just watched ‘em put it together.”

“My mom showed me a trick once, watch this,” Kat hit the egg on the table’s edge, she took two hands and delicately pulled at the halves. Once the egg cracked enough to split, she held it over the bowl and juggled its contents from one half of the shell to the other and the goopy clear egg white fell away with a dripping splash from the yolk.

“Oh look at you,” Stretch chimed, “gettin’ all fancy on me.”

“Do you want to use this?” She offered him the half eggshell full of shiny yolk.

“Yep, put it in this bowl,” he told her and gestured to the other bowl. “Now let’s see if I can do this...” Stretch took one of the remaining eggs and tried his hand at Kat’s method. He was a little too rough with his, one of the halves almost crushing in itself. He managed to save it, and gingerly tried tossing the contents like she had done. His other half of the shell was just tall enough to hold the yolk without it falling into the wrong bowl.

“You do the last one,” he said. “You’re better at this.”

“Keep practicing, and one day you’ll be as good as Casper and I.” Kat smiled and cracked the last egg for him. She carefully handed it to him so he could separate it himself. “You could ask your nephew for some help, you know.”

He shrugged and picked out bits of shell. “Yeah, I could.”

“But you won’t.”

“I’m askin’ you for your help, ain’t I? Don’t that mean anything nice to you?”

“It does.” Kat nodded. “I am curious, why do you have this interest in learning to cook all of a sudden?”

“Why,” Stretch mused, “I‘m a fan o’ the way food tastes, Kit-Kat.”

“Most people are.” said Kat. “That’s not the real reason though, is it?”

“I wanna be able to do something right around here. So, I thought I could lighten up Bulbhead’s load a bit. If he’s coming back, then he don’t need to be worrying about takin’ care of us anymore.”

“Are you feeling okay? Let me feel your forehead—“

“I’m fine! And I’m serious! What, I can’t want to do something nice for everybody without you all thinking I’ve come down with a case of the crazies?”

She rolled her eyes. Moving her attention back to their breakfast, she asked him, “what’s next?”

“A little sugar in this one,” he pointed to the bowl of yolks and handed her a fourth-cup for it. “A little in that one,” and he gave her a half-cup for the other. “Oh! And some for me too.” When she gave him a little look of confusion he stole a peck and a few giggles from her.

Stretch took the hand-mixer for himself, leaving Kat to find a fork. She stuck it in her yolks and whipped away at them while the whizzing from his kitchen tool churned noisily against the porcelain bowl. His clear-ish, sugary mixture sloshed around in a hectic maelstrom between the beaters. He kept his fast pace on the handle and after a few moments of rapid gear-turning, the results were becoming a sweetly-scented and bubbling foam.

“You gonna be ready for our rematch soon, Kitten?” Stretch nudged her.

Kat took another sip from her cup. “Maybe in a few days after never.”

“Hmph. Look at this,” Stretch glowered at the droopy peaks at the end of his mixer, “my meringue’s going flat.”

“You gotta whisk it some more.” Kat told him.

“I’m whiskin’ with everything I’ve got!” He stick it back into the mixture and the porcelain chattered and clinked.

“N-Not so fast! You’ll break all the air bubbles you’re making!”

“But I’m hungry,” he groaned, “and I want to eat!”

They added small amounts flour to the yolk as Kat mixed it together until a golden batter formed.

“Lemme try this part.” Stretch had his bowl of not-quite stiff meringue and gently plopped it into the batter. He took the wooden spoon and folded the two substances together until they became a jiggly consistency.

The pan wasn’t too hot this time, and the fluffy batter scooped out nicely, if a little runnier in the outcome than had Stretch desired. The three big portions they had sizzled against the surface and after a few seconds passed, the cake puffed up like misshapen marshmallow. He took a turner with cautious grasp and flipped the delicate cakes over on the other side. They smelled pretty tasty and had a nice golden-brown hint to them. Stretch plated them up, served her one and took another for himself along with his seat.

“This tastes...” Kat thought out loud as she chewed, “like a very sweet omelette.”

“Texture’s not bad.” Stretch remarked about his own.

“Eggy.” Kat swallowed.

“You don’t like it? Maybe we did it wrong...”

“I... am learning to like it.” Kat said. “It’s... it’s growing on me. Wouldn’t go bad with some whipped cream.”

“You certainly wouldn’t be either, Kit-Kat.”

“Why Stretch,” she smirked. “I didn’t realize we were having brunch in the gutter.”

“You didn’t see that on the invitation? I thought I had written the address as plain as day,” Stretch snickered. “This is...” He flicked his fingers and wrist outward and wrinkled his nose in disappointment, “the part where I’d whip up a very elegantly lettered card but, that— bit— doesn’t seem to want to work for me anymore.”

“I‘d say you made a good trade for a bit that does work.” Kat chimed.

“Nice view from down here in the gutter, eh, Kit-Kat?”

“Eat your pancake,” she said, and ate another bite.

Once they finished their meal, and cleaned up the mess they made in the kitchen, they two took turns sharing the bathroom and dressed themselves for the day.

“What’s your plan for today, Kitten?”

“There’s some stuff around the house I should do,” she answered, thinking off into the distance. “Thinking about going through some of the chores.”

“I’ll help you out,” offered Stretch. “What can I do?”

“Oh,” Kat began to laugh. “Oh, _oh_, I have _just _the thing you can do. Hold on. I shall return.” She disappeared into the hall closet and began rooting around. Clattering among some heavy coats and the shoe-bin for a minute, she dragged out a very familiar contraption. “_Tada_!” She presented it to him.

“Oh, no. _Nuh-uh_.” Stretch refused. “You are kidding, right? There ain’t _no way _in hell I’m touching this thing.”

“What?” She gave him a skeptical grin. “You’re not really afraid, are you? It’s not like it’s gonna suck you up into it again.”

“Can’t I do something else?” Stretch recoiled a little. “I can go around and dust all them tall spots you’re too short to reach.”

“There’s only like six big rugs you need to get,” Kat tried to reason, “and rest is all hardwood. You can still get those tall spots for me too, that’s what _this _is for.” She held up the extention hose.

“H-hey!” Stretch jerked away with a start. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing!”

“Oh, you’re such a big pansy, Stretch! It’s not gonna hurt you!” Kat fished up the end of the power cable and plugged it into the wall for him.

“This is supposed to be some sorta your twisted way of getting revenge on me, isn’t Kitty-Kat?”

“Why would you call this revenge, when,” Kat hand disappeared behind her into her back pocket and began to pull something from it, “I’m about to introduce you to the most amazing thing you’ve never experienced before?”

“Whadoyou—“

“Another tada!” She held _the-most-amazing-experience _up for him to take.

“Your phoney-thingy?” asked Stretch.

“That’s rude.” said Kat.

“You know what I mean! What do you want me to do with it?”

“You can listen to music while you vacuum if you want, won’t be such a scary chore then.”

Stretch was already at it, trying to wiggle the earbuds into his ears. His face scrunched when he jammed them into place, “I dunno about this, these are almost as bad as those flip-flops you made me wear.”

“You have them in backwards—“ Kat rolled her eyes and reached to correct them.

“_Wha’d you say?_” mimed Stretch.

“—Is that better?” Kat asked him.

“Yeah,” he snuck a kiss from her, “that’s better.”

“If you want to listen to something else, press this button,” Kat pressed the button on her device and demonstrated its use for him, “some other stuff will pop up you can pick from, like this... Volume is up and down on the side, here. You got it?”

Stretch pressed _play _on a random selection and in that instant, muffled beats began splashing sounds familiar to her. “Yeah,” he said, his violet eyes held a mix of emotion brightened by a grin ever growing across his face. “I... This is...” He seemed stuck in place, though she could see he was running wild inside his mind.

“You got this.” Kat gave him a pat and rub on his back and set him to his task.

“But, how do I...?” Stretch scratched his head to the music, bewildered by the cursed carpet cleaner. He knew it needed to be connected to the electricity in the wall, and it was, he checked. “Ah, maybe this is it...” He spotted a switch near what looked like the head of the beast to him. He flicked it. “_Gah_!”

Kat went around the manor’s most commonly occupied areas, looking for spots that needed tidying here and there. Once she was done, she gathered up her bedding in a big ball and sorted it into the wash. She could hear the distant howling of the vacuum being rushed down the halls above her. She wondered if Stretch liked the music she had left him, that look on his face certainly gave her hope. She thought to ask him later if he enjoyed better than materializing lewdly written invitations.

Having found nothing too disheveled around the manor, and waiting on her bedding to finish in the wash, Kat looked for some paper. A list was needing to be made for the other residents, a list of things they would need for their return to world of the living. She wasn’t going to have a parade of naked men, sprung fresh from the Lazarus running through her house, that was for sure. She would throw sheets over them and cut out holes for the eyes if she had to. Kat drew some lines to up the items she’d need to acquire; sets of clothes and shoes and toiletries as immediate necessities. She had splurged some on Stretch, and hoped the others wouldn’t mind if their first sets of new clothes came from thrifting.

‘_But their sizes... Stinkie probably won’t be taller than Dad. Casper’ll be a little easier... Fatso’d want to make his own clothes anyway... Maybe he wouldn’t mind a sheet to start with.’_

She anticipated their utilities to skyrocket too, most assuredly the water and the heating bill. When she finished, the estimated amount hit a nurtured nerve in her stomach. She’d feel it even worse in her wallet.

Establishing themselves as the permanent residents of Whipstaff had come with cost over the years. And though she and her father were the living inhabitants, and _everyone _knew the house _really _belonged to Casper, the county had a much different say about the dead owning property. And so, with the demise of Carrigan, unmarried and childless; the custody of the manor eventually fell under the county’s treasurer. And would remain so until the unlikely event that a living relative of the Harvey’s former patron could be found.

Kat had only met the treasurer once, when he arrived one day to inspect his new renters. He had decidedly not stayed long upon seeing the extent of the courtesy his occupants bestowed him and chose to communicate exclusively through mail from that day forward. He had pissed himself trying to scramble back into his car. Kat could never forget how that had made the highlight of the Trio’s week.

‘_They better appreciate what I’m going to do for them.’_

Kat lifted her gaze from her scribbled numbers, movement had caught her glance from the sunroom. She peered inside the glass door and saw her father.

“Hey Dad.” Kat called called to her father who was spritzing his plants. “Stretch and I are doing some chores today, got anything you need done?”

“Just what’s in my hamper, Bucket. No rush.”

“The ferns look good today.” said Kat.

“They do,” James nodded happily and spritzed another plant in an arrangement on a mantle. “I’m quite proud of them.”

“There’s one kinda flat-looking soufflé-cake left, if you’re hungry.” Kat offered him.

“I ate before you two were up.” replied James lightly.

“Sorry we weren’t there for breakfast.”

“Kat,” said her father, “you’re living your own life. You don’t need to apologize to me for that. I was young once. I was married to your mother after all. I know all too well what it’s like to be—”

“Dad. I have to tell you, this going to get several kinds of awkward if you keep talking.”

“Well, let’s get it out of the way, shall we?” said the Doc.

“I’d say we did. Just now.”

“Hm.”

“It’s been nice.” Kat sighed, defeated. “With Stretch. I... yeah. It’s nice.”

“I’m happy that you’re happy, Bucket. I keep thinking about the others, and seeing them as people. It’s going to take some getting used to. Sometimes I have to do a double-take when I see Stretch. It’s funny, I still recognize him, but he looks so different.”

“You looked different too, when you were...”

“Did I?”

“A little in the face and nose some. You kept your glasses and hair though.”

James shrugged.

_Kzzrrtcchht! _An angry choke cackled a few rooms away. Wide-eyed, Kat scrambled to the source of the commotion. She smelled a whiff of burning... something... and the panicked stammering of Stretch was coming from the end of the hallway.

_Kzzrrrrktchttztch-Vwwwvvwvvv!_

“Uhh... h-help!” Stretch cried out when he saw her. “It’s smoking at me! What do I do?!”

“Turn it off!” Kat pointed to the switch. “Unplug it Stretch, quick!” She leapt over a lump in the long hall rug and quickly yanked the cord from the wall. The vacuum hissed and sizzled and finally silenced. “_Whew_! That was close. What the hell did you do it?”

“I have no idea what happened!” Stretch pulled the buds from his ears and stuffed the device into his pocket haphazardly. “I was just pushin’ it along the floor, like you told me, then it made this clunky noise and started smokin’ and now you’re here.”

“Let me see.” Kat knelt down and tipped the vacuum over. She looked intently into the cavernous mouthpiece of the floor-beast. She looked at her hands and seemed tempted a moment to dig around its insides, but instead she turned the machine back up. When she plugged it in and it didn’t spring to life, even after flipping the switch a few times, she sighed. “Yep. Well, that sucks. I’m gonna have to take it apart now...”

“Is it... broken?” Stretch sounded almost genuinely concerned.

“Won’t be once I’m through with it.” said Kat. “C’mon Kirby, let’s get you patched up.” And she gathered up its cable and with it, went off to the library where she could set up a spot to begin repairs.

She opened the great, wide doors of the library and set the vacuum aside a closet. She opened it, and pulled out a small folding table. Next, with two hands she hugged a plastic shelf up filled with bits and bolts and other tiny parts and set it aside. She took out a toolbox, an old blanket, and an extremely useful magnetic cup. Finally, she brought out a magnifying lamp and clipped it to her table. Everything neat and tidy for her to begin, Kat rolled her sleeves up and began dismantling the vacuum.

A few hours went by. Kat looked up to the sound of footsteps entering her workspace.

“Hey, Kit-Kat.” Stretch greeted her.

“What’s up?” asked Kat from behind the lamp.

“I,” he stammered a little, “well I, wanted to—”

“What?” she said again. “What is it?”

“Nevermind, I’ll tell you later.”

“No, you can tell me now.”

“You look busy.” Stretch replied. “Can you fix it?”

“I think so, but you sure as shit did a number on it, look at this gross clump of hair and stuff! I knew you had it out for poor Kirby, but sheesh, there’s gentler ways to go!”

“I’m just giving you a hard time, Stretch. This junk was already clogging some of it, Kirby was overdue for a good cleaning.”

Sheepishly, he stepped a little closer to get a better look. “What’re those parts your working with?”

“This is the motor.” Kat held up the halved tarnished metal chunk of intricacy. “Well, it will be once I put it back together.” She bent her gaze down low once more and concentrated through the magnifier. Kat took a tweezer’s portion of some coiled wire and her steady hands kept it in place. “Just gotta... solder these new wires onto... here.” The little blue rod in her hand sparked and singed against tiny metal hairs that quickly fused the bright, new wires to tiny metal nodes meant for them.

Stretch oogled at the numerous components she had neatly organized. “What’s this part?” He pointed to a piece with section punched out.

Kat picked it up for him to take a closer look. “This is the casing where the headlamp goes.”

“Nifty,” he said. “For all that nighttime vacuuming. What broke?”

“I think that a quarter was pulled up, and combined with some very furry dust-bunnies, and a scrunchie I haven’t seen in a while... got caught in the fan and blocked the airway, which caused Kirby to overheat and shorted out the motor. But, on the plus-side, I only need to replace a few pieces. I’ve also found a quarter!”

The new wires needed in place, and the gunk and clutter removed from Kirby’s innards, Kat set herself to putting it all back together. Stretch watched her work with quiet curiosity. It would not her take much time before the pile of unrecognizable pieces reformed into the noisy machine again.

“Now here comes the fun part,” Kat plugged the cable into a nearby outlet. When she flipped the switch, the vacuum screeched in a clearer whistle than ever.

“Ha_-ha_!” cheered Kat triumphantly.

“You did it!” Stretch cheered with her.

“Of course I did it!” Kat nodded confidently. “I’m great at this shit! All it is is high-risk LEGOs.” She handed Stretch back the vacuum. “Welp, here ya go. What’s with that frown? You’ve only swept half the house.”

Her laundry finished, and her bed was made up nice and smelling fresh and clean. Kat took the laundered contents of her father’s hamper back to his room.

“I’m done with what I wanted to get done today.” She said to Stretch as she caught him in the foyer finishing up his job. “Getting hungry for dinner yet?”

“Sure,” he said, wrapping the cable up to the vacuum, “but wanna see somethin’ first?”

“Ooh, what did you find?”

“Nothin’ new.” He extended his hand for her to follow him. “You’ll still like it, maybe.”

And up the steps the went, and down the long corridor until they reached a door that had only been opened once in years.

Kat’s jaw dropped at polished wooden dressers and bed frames. “Wow! Oh, _wow_! It looks great in here!”

He’d swept the floor and cleared out the cobwebs, the drapes were drawn and the window let in the chilly breeze from the ocean. “Aren’t they gonna be mad at you for messing with their things?”

His arm wrapped around her. “See how much I care?”

Kat chuckled.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” His mouth had sneakily found its way close to her ear.

But Kat had no audible response, her mouth was twisting into something of a smile that struggled to unwind itself.

“_Mhmm_.” affirmed Stretch.

“The guys might be back before my cycle’s through.” said Kat.

“Hey, now, don’t you go spoilin’ a good thing before it’s even happened yet. You think I won’t tell ‘em to take a few more days?”

“You’re ridiculous, Stretch.”

“Is it so wrong of me to want to sleep with you in my own bed, Kitten? Just for one night,” he tried to reason. “You’ve had me in yours, and I want you in mine, fair?”

“Mine’s much newer, I’ll bet it’s way more comfortable.”

“Hmph! ‘Bout to lose that bet!” He gripped her suddenly and gently tossed the both of them onto his bed. It creaked loudly when they hit the mattress, and Kat could almost swear she heard the wood splintering.

“_Oof_...” she laughed. “That did _not _sound good.”

“Alright so, maybe the frame’s a little old.” Stretch muttered. “We can manage.”

“We will break this if we try, Stretch.”

He seemed to be thoroughly amused by the challenge. “You think we could?”

Kat shook her head. “I don’t wanna find out.”

“That’s fine, Kit-Kat. We don’t have to do anything too vigorous. But, just one night?”

“Maybe. Let me think about it.”

“What’s there to think about?” he argued. “It’s a bed, you sleep on it.”

“I’ll think about it. Let’s go make some dinner.”

She rose up out of his bed onto her feet and reached out her hands to pull him up.

They decided on a simple supper of some grilled cheese and tomato soup. Kat assisted with preparing the bread, Stretch handled adding the slices of cheese before they hit the griddle and stirring the pot for the soup. James came down the steps on smelling the good smells wisping from the kitchen and ate with them as well when all was ready.

The evening arriving, and dinner had by all, the Doc took off for his own means as usual.

Kat stole away into the laundry room and snatched up pair of pajamas. She gathered up Stretch’s clothes too and he hopped into them once they were in her bedroom.

“What did you do, back then?” Kat turned on her side to him. “How did you guys make money?”

“It wasn’t just one thing we did, I know that much.” Stretch explained. “If somebody needed something done, me’n my brothers would just do it for them, and then they’d pay us.”

“What sort of things would you do?” she asked.

“Anything we could do, I guess. Like... one day we painted a house. One week we broke a bunch of stone to make foundation for another one. We’d deliver stuff to people, trade stuff. I think that’s what my grandfolks got into way, way back then, was tradin’ stuff. And, sometimes, the brothers we, we’d get really lucky in another town at a game of poker. That’s an easy thing to do when you can stack the seats with your own.”

“Easy?” Kat’s brown arched. “Mm, _shady _sounds like.”

“Hey, it worked for us doll, I don’t wanna hear it. Why you so interested, hm?”

“I was going to wait a little longer to talk to you about it,” She scooted up a little closer and her hands began to trail along his foreleg. “But since you were feeling extra helpful today; how do you feel about, maybe getting a job? And, I’m asking you, your brothers are gonna be told to.”

“Are we hurtin’ that badly?” Stretch asked, a little dismayed.

“No.” Kat answered. “Right now, we’re actually pretty comfortable. That won’t be the case forever, once the others are back.”

“How long do you figure we have before we’re eating cat-food?”

“We aren’t going to be eating cat-food.” Kat said sternly. “That’s _not _going to be a thing. If Dad doesn’t decide to suddenly retire, his share, my share, and with my buffer, will keep us all afloat for maybe a year if you guys are indeed lucky.”

Stretch gave her a curious look. “Your buffer?”

“I uh... I was saving up for... kind of a big get-away trip for myself.” Kat’s fingers continued to crawl along his skin. “But, you know, some other things happened instead. And it can be used elsewhere.”

“How long have you been saving for?”

She sighed. “About nine years.”

Stretch blinked. “How much do you have?!”

“Enough.” Kat winced skeptically. “I hope.”

Stretch leaned back and put his arms behind his head. He was quiet for a second, not quite able to relax. “We only got a year to figure out what to do with ourselves?” Stretch rubbed his chin in thought. “I didn’t... think about...”

“The cost of living? It’s not very fair, I know. A lifetime isn’t even long enough to know what to do with yourself. Getting you guys there is gonna be the hardest part in all this too... you’ve been dead a long time.” said Kat. “We’ll have to find places that won’t care that you don’t have IDs.”

“Oh well, that’ll be easy peasy! We can just do what we did in the old days like nothing’s changed! The former Ghostly Trio will certainly win the town over with our charming personalities. I’m sure lotsa folks around here wouldn’t mind letting us do a little work for them.”

“You might be surprised.” Kat scoffed.

“_You _might be surprised at what a good job we do, Kit-Kat.” Stretch booped her on the nose.

“I hope I am.”

“So, um...” he said, rubbing the back of his head into a messy fluff, “now that we’re talkin’ about, ya know, the foreseeable future and all that...”

“You don’t have to do anything right now, Stretch. Let’s talk more about it once the others are back, and we know what we’re dealing with.”

“This ain’t—” But he was silenced with gentle lips pressed to his. His hand lifted to the back of her head and he let his grasp feel lost in her hair for a moment.

“Why do you want to do this to me?” He asked her lowly when she pulled away.

“Hm, because,” she kissed his cheek.

“I like seeing your face like this,” and then his ear. “_I like..._” she whispered, and her soft and nimble fingers found him excitedly waiting for her touch under his boxers. Gently she freed him and her hand began a light motion along the flesh of his member. “_Knowing that I_... _can do _this _to you_.” Kat took his earlobe into her mouth and nibbled on it. A surging cramp inside her kicked the tingling sensation building up away roughly. Kat winced and her head slunk into his neck. She grumbled something and channeled her irritation into her moving hand.

“Is something wrong?” Stretch asked her quietly.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she answered. “I’m just really... really frustrated.”

“Why’s that, Kit-Kat?” The slow and sweet gripping movements of her hand were drawing out his lustful tone.

“I’m faced with a dilemma.”

He grunted once, she must have hit a nice spot for him. “_Tell me about this dilemma you’re facin’_.” Stretch whispered.

“On one hand, I could let you rip everything I’m wearing from me, right now,” Kat purred, “and let you bend me over the edge of my bed, and you could fit your cock into me...”

“Is it this hand?” he asked and his fingers brushed against hers around his flesh. “I like this hand.”

“On the other, all _this_,” Kat motioned to herself with her free grasp, “it’s a mess, and it’s one I’d rather not clean up.”

“_Can _you...” he asked, “when you’re...?”

“Sure. I... I haven’t before... they say it can help with cramps... Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to.” The warmth from his flesh against her adventurous fingers lightly wrapped around him was torturously tempting. “I could have some fun this way...”

She felt him coax her closer again and soon his mouth was on hers. Every downward motion she gave him brought forth a tensed release, and his short grunts only brightened the signs of arousal growing on her cheeks.

“Do it_._” she told him. “Cum for me_._”

He could only whisper, “_on your hand_...?”

“I don’t mind, it sounds kind of hot. I know you want to.”

“You don’t know what I want.” He groaned into her kiss. “Maybe you do, and you just don’t want to let me have it.”

Kat chuckled lowly, “_I know that you don’t want me to stop_.”

“That...doesn’t count. Seems so unfair... _Hah_—!” The slick warmth of her mouth had fallen on him. “_Fuck_...!”

His hand gripped to her back and shoulder, he groaned something that caught in his throat and hissed through his teeth. She flicked her tongue across the head of his member, and when the sweet suction within her mouth tightened, his jaw slacked and he was soon lost. He felt so solid and sweltering against her tongue, she wondered if it hurt him to be as aroused as he was. She soon didn’t need imagination for the feeling, her own stirrings tickled against dulled pain. It annoyed her. She growled her frustrations and let her mouth envelope along his flesh, until she reached the base of him. She gulped, and caught her reflex before it became something dangerous. Kat twisted her tongue around him upwards, and pulling with her a few involuntary twitches from his thighs.

“D-do that again...” he panted. “A-all the way...”

“Say, ‘_please_’.” She held the tip of his member to her lips and pressed a kiss.

“I’m gonna fuck the daylight out of you the second you’re done with... _ohh_...” She had taken him into her again, and had stopped at a painfully shallow distance for him.

“That’s an odd way to say ‘please’.” She said when she let go, and slowly planted firm kisses around his shaft.

“Please...” he begged her, “_please_, Kat...”

Satisfied, she granted his request. Taking a long lick up once more, a twitch from him helped his flesh into her closing mouth. She started downward in small pulses, squeezing him in places with her lips. She wondered if she could still reach his sensitive tip with her tongue with him reaching further into her throat, so she tried. She couldn’t quite reach the top, but the noises he gave from her attempt let her know it was not in vain. He was close to whimpering, but Kat could only grunt at pestering pangs low in her abdomen and their pesky persistence. She gulped another reflex back, let her mouth rise along him, and once halfway she was traveling down again. The tip of his member pushed far against the wetness of the edge of her tongue, almost bending slightly with the depth it reached.

Her insides twinged in pleasurably painful aches. She groaned again, feeling hopelessly unable to pleasure herself with him. She wanted to. Any other time the slick sensations gathering below her would cause her to greet her sensitivities. Stupid uterus.

“That’s too good... Kat... _aahh_—!” His member burst inside her mouth, and she could feel the intensity of the bitter spurts pulsating. It was somewhat difficult for her to swallow it all in one go, but a quick flash of mental preparation ensured she succeeded.

“What happened to you warning me next time?” she said, wiping her mouth dry with her wrist.

“I-I tried to.” Stretch said dizzily. “I said it quicker in my head.”

“Is that what that was?” Kat snickered.

“Heh,” he chuckled, winded. “I knew you liked it, Kitty-Kat.”

Smirking, she stuck her nose in the air, “I wouldn’t put it on my toast in the morning. But, I don’t hate it.” Kat turned the covers from herself and slipped out of bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Stretch called after her. “Get back here.”

“I’ll be right back Stretch,” she said. “I gotta take care of this mess.”

“You’re not leaving me without a kiss first.”

“Even after I just...?”

“Do I look like I care? I’ve tasted you inside and out, Kit-Kat. Come here, I want to kiss you.”

When he let her go, she returned after a quick wash all over and feeling much fresher.

“I gotta say,” Kat began as she took down her tangled, damp hair, “I wouldn’t even wish this on you. It sucks being a woman sometimes.”

“You know it just occurred to me...” Stretch tapped his chin in though, “why didn’t I think to ask you to keep some of that aside for the Lazarus?”

“Two things, you are fucking disgusting, and my blood isn’t even the O-Positive type.” She shook her head and tossed her towel onto the foot of her bed.

Stretch raised his brow and gave her goofy grin. “So what you’re tellin’ me is, that it might have worked if you was?”

“I’m...” She found her words stolen by chuckles at the sheer ludicrousness of the thought. “You are too much right now.” But she couldn’t stop laughing. He soon joined her and the two were cackling like mad. “I can’t believe you thought you almost killed me last night!” Kat cried out as she shoved him.

“What the hell was I supposed to think?! That has never happened to me before in all my lives! I hardly remember that’s even a thing that you women go through half the time!”

“Guess I cant really fault you for that, you guys don’t go through it. But, it is like, one of the main fucking differences between us. I’m not sure how you can forget either, when Stinkie‘s always got some shitty remark about my little waste-bin. Which none of you can even fucking see if you went into the bathroom. Why does a ghost even need to go into the bathroom anyway?! _Ugh_!”

“Is that what he means when he’s talkin’ about ‘_smellin’ the moon-juice a-brewin_’? I had no idea.” Stretch’s own chuckles began to bubble again into another eruption. But, he was on his own in his levity it seemed. “Whatsamatter?”

Kat’s eyes had become cold stone, “You’re such an asshole sometimes.”

“I didn’t! I’m serious!”

“It’s not funny. It was _never _funny.”

“I’m not laughing at you!”

“Whatever, Stretch. I’m tired.” Kat gripped her side of the blanket and threw her head into the pillow. “I’m going to sleep.”

“You‘re not really mad at me,” she heard him ask her. “Are you?”

Kat sighed and closed her eyes. “No. I’m not really mad at you. But, I _am _tired. Goodnight Stretch.”

“Okay. Good. G’night...Kat.”


End file.
